Be confident about surgery

Q: My father is slated to have robotic surgery to fix a leaky mitral valve in his heart. They say it’s going to be minimally invasive. What does that mean?

Gerry F., Franklin, Tennessee A: Robotic surgery is done with a trained surgeon controlling a camera and mechanical arms with surgical instruments attached to them. The surgeon is at a computer console, where he or she sees a high-definition, magnified 3D view of the surgical site. This technology lets surgeons perform complex procedures because the surgeon has a clear view of a patient’s anatomy, and because robots can be “told” precisely how to navigate in a body with information from CT scans and ultrasounds.

These days a robot is often used in minimally invasive cardiac procedures that require small incisions. The precision of the robots’ movements and the delicacy of the process is great for patients. There is less risk of infection, fewer complications, less pain and blood loss, and quicker recovery with smaller scars.

Make an appointment to talk to the surgeon and take a list of topics to ask about so you discuss all your concerns.

Q: What’s this new super study about how many steps you should walk a day really saying? Cassie R., Walking In Circles,

Chicago A: First, I want to make it clear that disease prevention and longevity are very important — and that is what the new metastudy by an international group of scientists who formed the Steps for Health Collaborative was looking at. Their analysis of the findings of 15 studies involved nearly 50,000 people from four continents.

— The lowest step group averaged 3,500 steps per day; the second group, 5,800; the third, 7,800; and the fourth, 10,900.

— Among the three groups getting the most steps per day, there was a 40%-53% percent lower risk of death.

— For adults age 60 and younger, health was protected and premature death was avoided with 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day. For folks over 60, it seemed that 6,000 to 8,000 did the trick.