A heart-lung machine is used in most cases during open heart surgery. While the surgeon works on the heart, the machine helps send oxygen-rich blood to the brain and other organs.

• Your heart surgeon will make a 5 to 8-inch surgical cut in the chest wall. The breast bone is opened with a surgical saw to expose the heart. The surgeon can fix or replace a valve or perform bypass surgery.
• During endoscopic surgery, your surgeon makes one to four small holes in your chest. Then your surgeon uses special instruments and a camera to perform the surgery.
• During robot-assisted valve surgery, the surgeon makes two to four tiny cuts (about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch) in your chest. The surgeon uses a special computer to control robotic arms during the surgery. The surgeon sees a three-dimensional view of the surgery on the computer. This method is very precise. However, it has not been proven so far to have better results than traditional surgery methods.

You will not need to be on a heart-lung machine for some types of surgery using smaller cuts. However, your heart rate may be slowed with medicine or a mechanical device used to position the heart to do the operation. If there is a problem with these procedures, the surgeon may have to open the chest to do the surgery.