Doctors at NYU Langone Health have performed the world’s first double lung transplant using robots. They used machines to do the whole operation instead of doing it by hand. This is a big step forward because the procedure was less invasive.

The surgery was led by Stephanie Chang. She used a special robot called the da Vinci Xi to take out the old lungs and put in new ones for a 57-year-old woman named Cheryl Mehrkar. Cheryl had a lung disease called COPD, which makes it hard to breathe. Instead of the usual big cut, they made small cuts between her ribs. This way, the surgery is easier on the patient’s body.

Cheryl got her new lungs just four days after she was put on the list for a transplant. She had been sick for a long time, even more so after she had COVID-19.

Advantages of robotic surgery

The da Vinci Xi is “the most widely used multiport robotic surgery system in the world,” says the manufacturer. It “delivers proven capabilities for a wide spectrum of procedures across multiple specialties… offers advanced instrumentation, vision, and features such as Firefly fluorescence imaging and integrated table motion; it’s versatile and flexible, with standardization that can help manage inventory and improve overall OR efficiency.”

Chang explained that using robots for this kind of surgery can help patients feel less pain after the operation and recover faster. This is because the surgery is gentler on the body. “By using these robotic systems, we aim to reduce the impact this major surgery has on patients, limit their postoperative pain, and give them the best possible outcome,” says Chang in a NYU Langone Health press release.

“This latest breakthrough in robotic surgery speaks to the culture of innovation we’ve built by bringing the most talented people in their fields together,” adds Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. 

NYU Langone is now leading the way in this new type of lung surgery. They’ve already done a single lung transplant with robots before this.

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