In a revolutionary development in medical science, a hospital in Barcelona, Spain has successfully conducted the first-ever lung transplant surgery with the aid of a fully robotic system.
Four-armed medical robot performs lung transplant
This ground-breaking procedure was performed with a Da Vinci medical robot that utilized an innovative technique that did not require cutting through the bone. Instead, the robot made a small incision below the sternum without breaking the ribs, a technique pioneered by Albert Jauregui, the head of the Thoracic Surgery and Lung Transplant Service at Vall d’Hebron Hospital.
Compared to traditional lung transplant operations that require separating the ribs to open up the thorax and are considered aggressive, this pioneering technique was less intrusive and is expected to improve the patient’s quality of life, reduce the post-surgery period and decrease pain. In fact, Xavier, a 65-year-old patient who underwent surgery, confirmed that he experienced no pain during the postoperative period and was delighted with the outcome.
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A leap forward in medical science
It is worth noting that a similar surgery had been performed at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York but with only partial use of the robotic system. Jauregui’s pioneering technique with the help of a fully robotic system for lung transplant surgery is a significant leap forward in the field of medical science.
It is important to clarify that the robot does not perform the surgery independently. Rather, the surgeon remains in control of the operation the whole time, controlling the procedure from a distance through fiber optic cables, similar to telesurgery.
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