The first fully robotic double-lung transplant just happened - here's all the details
A team of surgeons at NYU Langone Health recently performed the world’s first fully robotic double-lung transplant, a big advancement in robotic surgery and minimally invasive transplant procedures.
The surgery took place on Oct. 22 and was led by Stephanie Chang, the surgical director of the Lung Transplant Program at NYU Langone.
“Years ago I didn’t think that a robotic lung transplant would be feasible. I thought it was going to be too technically complex,” said Chang in a video published today by the hospital. “It hadn’t been done before and we did that.”
The team used the da Vinci Xi robotic system — picture four robotic arms hanging from the ceiling with surgical tools at the ends — to transplant both lungs on Cheryl Mehrkar, a 57-year-old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
After the team made small incisions between the ribs, the robotic arms were then used to remove the lungs, prepare the surgical site for implantation, and implant the new lungs.
“I’m so grateful to the donor and their family for giving me another chance at life,” said Mehrkar in a statement. “For a long time, I was told I wasn’t sick enough for a transplant. The team at NYU Langone Health centered my quality of life as a priority, and I’m so grateful to the doctors and nurses here for giving me hope.”
Chang said that by using robotic systems and surgery techniques, surgeons aim to reduce the impact of major surgery on patients and limit their postoperative pain.
“So when we think about robotic transplant, in general, overall it just allows for less trauma for the patient, better visualization,” Chang said.
She said the team is now working to standardize the procedure and make it more efficient and easy to teach in order to expand access to the surgery to more patients.
