Drs. Gibson and Gomez have been practicing cardiovascular and thoracic surgery for over twenty years. They have been and continue to be on the surgical leading edge in Houston and the United States with minimally invasive surgical procedures and equipment from beating heart surgery to using surgical robots. The following areas of specialization offer unique treatment options for our patients.
Beating Heart Surgery
Most cardiac surgeons, when performing heart surgery, stop the patient's heart and connect the patient to a heart-lung machine. This heart-lung machine circulates and oxygenates the patient's blood during surgery.
Beating Heart Surgery allows the heart to continue beating while the surgery is performed. This surgery incorporates state-of-the-art technology of a heart-stabilizing device. The stabilizing device immobilizes a small section of the heart that needs the bypass graft while the rest of the heart muscle continues to beat and pump blood to the body. The device attaches to the heart using small suction pods that gently grip the heart to steady it while the surgeon works. The patient's heart is not stopped and the patient does not need to be connected to the heart-lung mechanical pump.
Robotic Surgery
Dr. Miguel Gomez is Houston's leader in Robotic-assisted Cardiothoracic Surgery, performing more robotic-assisted cardiothoracic surgeries than any other surgeon in Houston using the amazing da Vinci Surgical System. Dr. Gomez also served as Director of Robotic Surgery at the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center at the Heart and Vascular Institute and similarly at the Methodist Hospital.
The da Vinci Surgical System is powered by a cutting edge robotic technology. The da Vinci System enhances surgical capabilities by enabling the performance of complex surgeries through tiny surgical openings. The System cannot be programmed, nor can it make decisions on its own. The da Vinci System requires that every surgical maneuver be performed with direct input from our surgeons.
The biggest benefit of Robotic-assisted cardiothoracic surgery is undoubtedly the ability to be minimally invasive. The 3D imaging system allows our surgeons to perform procedures inside a closed chest, with hand movements that parallel conventional surgery. Only a few incisions are made into the patient, ensuring a much faster recovery time. The FDA first approved the da Vinci Surgical System for assisting in cardiothoracic surgery in 1997, while approving it for the full surgery in 2000.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms With Endovascular Approach
The aorta is the main artery from the heart to the body. An aneurysm is a weak spot that balloons out from the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can burst and cause internal bleeding, in which case there is a high risk of death and emergency surgery may be required. We now have minimally invasive techniques using an endovascular approach to repair the aneurysm by using catheters guided within the arteries eliminating the need to cut the patient open.
Lung and Esophageal Surgery
Many different diseases afflict these two organs. Houston Cardiac Surgery Associates use robotic surgery to address many of the surgical needs associated with lung and esophageal surgery, thoracic sympathectomy for hyperhydrosis and surgical removal of benign and malignant tumors, ie., lung cancer, esophageal benign tumors, thymoma and other thymic tumors, sarcoma, and germ cell tumors. This allows us to make tiny incisions for entry whereby, the patient can recover more quickly from the operation. We use all the latest technology, including lasers, and video- and computer-assisted (robotic) surgery.