First fully robotic heart transplant in the US performed without opening patient's chest

Surgeons in Houston, Texas, have used robotic tools to perform heart transplant surgery on a patient without opening his chest.

The minimally invasive surgery, performed at Baylor St Luke's Medical Center, reduced surgical trauma, blood loss and infection risk and increased recovery time for the 45-year-old patient.

During the procedure, surgeons made small incisions in the upper abdominal wall below the diaphragm, eliminating the need to open the chest and break the breastbone.

The robot was then navigated through the preperitoneal space in the abdominal wall to remove the diseased heart. The same route was then used to implant the donor organ.

“Opening the chest and spreading the breastbone can affect wound healing and delay rehabilitation and prolong the patient's recovery, especially in heart transplant patients who take immunosuppressants,” said lead surgeon Dr Kenneth Liao, chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Baylor.

As it’s a minimally...