Robotic mitral valve repair in Japan and keyhole cardiac surgery in NewHeart Watanabe Institute

Robotic cardiac surgery in JapanIt has been a long road to the insurance coverage of robotic cardiac surgery in Japan since the application of the first generation of the da Vinci surgical system (da Vinci, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA).After six years of manufacturer's clinical trials at Kanazawa University (1-4), where we were previously based, and the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, the pharmaceutical affairs department approved the da Vinci S system in December 2015.In 2018, national insurance coverage was approved for robotic valve repair, and at the same time, the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery, and the Japan Robotic Surgery Society collaborated to establish the Robotic Assisted Surgery Council to accredit facilities and surgeons, and provide education for the safe use of robotic surgery.The council has, so far, approved permits for 25 facilities to perform robotic cardiac surgeries.The number of cases has also increased rapidly since 2018 and has been increasing annually.In 2021, more than 700 robotic cardiac surgeries were performed, including more than 600 mitral valve repairs.