Robotic mitral valve surgery performed at Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital

A robotic operation to treat mitral valve insufficiency has been performed at the Cardiovascular Surgery Department of Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital, according to Health Minister Dr Hakan Dinçyürek.

Halkın Sesi reported that the patient, who is in their 50s, underwent the procedure on 1 October. Dinçyürek described it as the first operation of its kind in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a distinction reported by the minister and not independently verified by News24.

Cardiovascular surgery specialist Dr Ozan Emiroğlu said the surgical team used four small openings rather than opening the breastbone, the conventional approach he described for this type of procedure.

Dinçyürek said robotic surgery can reduce the length of intensive-care stays, the size of surgical incisions, wound-healing time and the risk of complications. These potential benefits were presented as the minister’s assessment; no patient outcome data were provided.

Emiroğlu said that, in future, bypass operations could also potentially be carried out through four openings.

The patient told the newspaper that the operation had gone well, reporting no pain while in intensive care and no problems after being transferred to the ward.