‘Nano- A New Gambit Joins the Ongoing Battle against Cardiovascular Diseases’ II. Opportunities in Cardiovascular Surgery

Abstract

With continuing developments and refinements, cardiovascular surgery has advanced to a vast extent. Minimally invasive surgery has come into vogue in many of the sectors of cardiovascular surgery. But this does not leave surgeons free from the day-to-day challenges which they still continue to face in the field, the most common being the unconventional physiological issues with cardiopulmonary bypass used in majority of the cardiac operations, morbidity with  sternal splitting incisions and the various implantable devices -valves, grafts, assist devices etc. Considerable steps have been taken recently toward elucidating the role of the fast growing field of nanotechnology in the medical sphere and our first article has reviewed its role in cardiology. This communication reviews the evolving paradigm of a continuum of its role in cardiovascular surgery. Specifically, we discuss the probabilities of NT in getting-away with unnatural surfaces and their tribulations which has a definite impact on postoperative outcome, and aim to get them to be as nature-mimicking as possible. Miniaturization of surgical instruments, multifunctional nanorobots and nanoengineering of myocardial and vascular tissue are presented as technologies that are operational at the nanoscale level, will expand its use in the realm of surgery and have the potential to renovate the practice of cardiac surgery in a profound and meaningful way. The transfer of nanorobots from trance to reality and a useful role in pediaric and fetal cardiac surgery is anticipated in the coming decade. Opportunities for research and clinical translation are highlighted.

Keywords: Miniaturisation, nanostructured- devices, native tissue-mimicking, nanomembranes, nanopower, nanorobots, nanotissue engineering