he cardiovascular surgery team at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Heart Institute and Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute have successfully performed the first pediatric robotics-assisted cardiac surgery case, a first in Florida and one of few in the nation. Surgeons completed an atrial septal defect (ASD) repair on a teenager using robotic assistance. The milestone further establishes Nicklaus Children’s as a leader in advanced, minimally invasive care for children and adolescents with congenital heart disease, the most common birth defect, affecting nearly 1 percent of newborns in the U.S.
Performed using a robotic-assisted surgical system, this procedure reflects the growing role of robotics-assisted technology in highly specialized pediatric cardiac surgery. In this approach, the surgeon remains in full control of the operation at all times, using robotic instruments to translate the surgeon’s hand movements into precise, minimally invasive motion within the chest.
For qualified patients, this technique can offer important benefits compared with traditional open-heart surgery, including smaller incisions, avoidance of sternotomy, less postoperative discomfort, faster recovery, and improved cosmetic outcomes.
The procedure was led by Dr. David Kalfa, chief of cardiovascular surgery, co-director of the Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute as well as professor and researcher at FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, in collaboration with Dr. Tom C. Nguyen, system chief medical executive of Baptist Health Heart & Vascular care, director of minimally invasive surgery with Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Barry T. Katzen Endowed Chair at Baptist Health, and chair and professor of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at FIU Medicine, and Dr. Makoto Hashimoto, cardiac surgeon at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute and director of robotic cardiac surgery at FIU Medicine.
