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History of Minimally Invasive Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

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Abstract

Minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery has developed into a sound technique over the past 20 years. It represents an evolution of the early thoracoscopic techniques which were applied in the past century by pulmonologists and internists, mostly aimed at diagnosis and which greatly contributed to the development of an innovative and successful surgical approach.

This chapter is an overview of the essential stages in the development of this technique, from the first experiences by H. C. Jacobaeus, to the introduction of video-assisted thoracoscopy, and eventually to robotics surgery.

Finally, telesurgery is briefly outlined as the most advanced evolution of robotics surgery, allowing to perform remote surgical procedures.

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Correspondence to Corrado Lavini M.D. .

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Lavini, C., Ruggiero, C., Morandi, U. (2012). History of Minimally Invasive Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery. In: Inderbitzi, R., Schmid, R., Melfi, F., Casula, R. (eds) Minimally Invasive Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11861-6_1

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