The world's first robotic assisted surgical system, the Intuitive Surgical da Vinci Surgical System, successfully implanted a kidney into a living recipient. The surgery was accomplished by transplant surgeon, Stuart R. Geffner, MD, Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Surgery, St. Barnabas Health Care System Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division. The procedure can revolutionize kidney transplant surgery by enhancing an 'open' surgery to an advanced form of laparoscopic surgery.
 
The robotic transplant creates a five centimeter incision, which is just large enough to introduce the kidney into the recipient's body. It is approximately one-third the size of a conventional 'open' transplant incision. The procedure will be beneficial to the patient in terms of quicker recovery, as well as a lower incidence of the most frequent post-operative complications such as wound infection and bleeding.

This article originally appeared in the July 2009 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.