Banner Health's North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Colo., performed its first robotic-assisted mitral heart valve repair.
This type of minimally invasive surgery allows for a shorter recovery time and less pain, Dwight Slater, MD, the cardiothoracic surgeon who performed the procedure, said in a Feb. 16 news release.
The patient, Jeffrey Beauprez, told his physician he had a "lifelong goal" to be the first person to do something, according to the release. After the procedure, he returned to work two weeks later.