A complex kidney transplant operation was performed by a robot for the first time. Modern invasive surgeries leave scars and can lead to fatal consequences with even a small error. Thanks to the use of robots, a complex minimally invasive kidney transplant was performed.
A patient from Australia agreed to take the risk and he signed up for the first kidney transplant that will done by a robot. The robotic grip which was used in the surgery is called Davinci and can rotate 360 degrees, which allows a work that is not possible by human doctors and their tools. It allows a minimum incision of 5 centimeters. This was enough to replace a kidney and therefore conduct a minimally invasive operation successfully.
Davinci allows the doctors to expand its use, it can also be used in different operations such as prostate or heart surgeries.
Tim Sawley, the patient, received the kidney needed for his operation from his wife, Talitha Sawley. It is stated that he was at the end stage of a renal failure, inevitable dialysis, and had a 50% survival rate after 5 years.
Sawley said, “I was at a 7 percent kidney function only a week ago, and the doctors now tell me my kidney function is nearly as good as anyone else now four days later” after the surgery.
“A kidney transplant is a difficult operation, and previously we could not do this with a minimal incision. We made a small hole just exactly the size of the kidney itself”, said Professor Howard Lau from Westmeath Hospital in Sydney.
In the future such a technique is expected to be used actively in transplantology, and will also help surgeons conduct operations for overweight patients. In addition, there are cases when it is simply impossible to perform operations with the traditional methods. Doctors say that the robot is able to solve all these problems.
