Surgeons Perform First Robotic Liver Transplant

In May 2023, a surgical team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis successfully performed the first-ever robotic liver transplant in the United States. The surgery took place at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and was conducted on a man in his 60s suffering from liver cancer and cirrhosis due to the hepatitis C virus.

The transplant was a success, and the patient is recovering well, having resumed normal activities. Liver transplantation is a technically challenging procedure, mainly due to excessive bleeding and the complexity of stitching up small blood vessels. Traditionally, liver transplants require “open” surgery with large incisions.

Using advanced robotic technology, the surgical team performed a minimally invasive procedure, making several half-inch keyhole incisions and a single six-inch vertical incision. The robotic instrumentation allowed for precise and delicate manipulations that were not achievable with traditional methods. The patient’s recovery was swift, regaining mobility and resuming activities in under a month, much quicker than typical recovery times.

The success of this robotic liver transplant opens up possibilities for faster execution of similar procedures in the future, following the surgical team’s prior accomplishments with robotic kidney transplants.