Jackson hospital to debut new robotic heart procedure

JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson Clinic cardiologist Dr. John Baker will perform a new robotic procedure used to improve safety and precision of coronary endovascular procedures.

The procedure Baker will perform Thursday at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, a robotic endovascular intervention with placement of a stent, will be the first in the state of Tennessee.

“When you’re doing coronary endovascular work, you want to be very precise and very delicate because you’re manipulating devices within a coronary artery,” Baker said. “This robotic device enables us to make very fine, precise movements.”

Jackson General is the 11th center in the country to install the second generation Cordinus vascular robotics GRX device. The device cost $600,000, with Friends of Heart donating a portion of the money.

“The robot system also will warn me if I’m encountering resistance to any of these movements, which can avert some complications for the procedure,” Baker said.

Baker compared the introduction of the robotic procedure to the introduction of stents in 1995 as another leap forward in technology.

Baker said operators could provide treatment in Jackson to take care of patients in Martin, Lexington, Selmer and other rural communities.

“Not only can I sit here in this console while the patient is on the table, I could be in the next room doing this,” he said. “Eventually, I could be at a remote site doing this.”

Another benefit Baker mentioned is that because surgeons would not have to wear heavy aprons when performing this procedure (because of less radiation) it could extend their careers by a few years.

Baker said he expects more surgeons to shift to this procedure over time, and there are plans for the first trans-ocean robotic procedure this fall.