Good news for many patients. A double lung transplant was performed entirely robotically at a hospital in New York, United States, Reuters announced on Thursday, November 21. This is a world first.
The operation was performed at the NYU Langone Health Center, a hospital located in the Manhattan district, on October 22.
The patient benefiting from this unprecedented transplant is Cheryl Mehrkar, a 57-year-old American. The latter has been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD, for more than ten years. It is a chronic disease caused by permanent and progressive inflammation and obstruction of the bronchi. It is often related to smoking.
Called 5 days after being put on waiting list.
In Cheryl Mehrkar’s case, her illness worsened in recent years due to a Covid-19 infection. It was during an intervention that this paramedic, also the director of a karate school, realized that his health had worsened.
“The 85-year-old security guard climbed the stairs better than me… I knew it was not a good sign,” he told Reuters, recalling his concern.
So there is no other solution for the fifty-year-old: he must undergo a lung transplant. Placed on a waiting list, she prepares to have to wait several months. But only five days later the good news arrives.
“My first reaction was: ‘My God, I’ll be here in two hours,’” says this super-active motorcycle enthusiast.
Much lighter operation
The operation was carried out without difficulty in New York. If it was completely robotic, that doesn’t mean there was no doctor present. Specifically, the intervention was carried out in collaboration between the robot and a team of surgeons. But it was the robot that made the incision, before removing the diseased lungs and implanting the organs obtained from a donor.
“In a normal transplant, a very large incision is made on each side of the chest or a very large one right in the middle, where the breastbone is broken,” explains Dr. Stephanie H. Chang, director of the program’s department of surgery. lung transplant program at New York University Langone Health Center.
With robotic surgery, the incision required is much smaller. “Instead of an incision of about 20 cm, we go down to a 5 cm incision,” says the surgeon, which is an advantage both in terms of the healing process and the length of the patient’s hospitalization.
“It allows for better healing and less postoperative pain,” says Dr. Stephanie H. Chang.
“Amazing”
Currently still recovering, Cheryl Mehrkar is slowly recovering. Although it has only been a month since the operation, he has already managed to walk again, a small feat, and he should soon leave the hospital.
“When I walk I don’t need oxygen and I can breathe (…) It’s incredible,” the American rejoices.
His thoughts turn first to his donor, “a young man”, who has given him a second life. “When you think about it, the family is grieving and two weeks later I’m breathing with their lungs,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Source: BFM TV
