Percutaneous internal jugular vein cannulation in minimally invasive cardiac surgery

Patients and methods: The data of a total of 191 patients (85 males, 106 females, mean age 38.7±14.8 years; range, 16 to 77 years) who underwent percutaneous internal jugular venous cannulation with minimally invasive cardiac surgery between January 2013 and October 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Of the patients, 17 underwent port-access cardiac surgery. One-hundred seventy-four percutaneous internal jugular venous cannulations were performed during robotic cardiac surgery. After the operation, localized hematoma developed in two patients (1.04%), mediastinal hematoma in one patient (0.52%), carotid artery injury in one patient (0.52%) and two patients (1.04%) required vacuum support due to insufficient drainage. No neurological complications, upper extremity edema or permanent arrhythmia were observed in any patients after the procedure. There was no long-term morbidity due to cannulation in any patients.

Conclusion: In minimally invasive cardiac surgery, percutaneous internal jugular vein cannulation is one of the most important methods which facilitates the work of the surgeon. With increasing experience of the process, minimally invasive surgery will become a more practical and faster method.