Cairo (Special about Egypt) – In a historic medical achievement, Cheryl Mehrkar, a 57-year-old woman from Dutchess County, New York, became the first person in the world to receive a double lung transplant using an entire robot, according to For the Sunday Times.
The groundbreaking procedure was performed at NYU Langone Health in New York City using the advanced Da Vinci Xi robotic system, marking an important milestone in surgical innovation and patient recovery.
A life full of events was interrupted by a chronic illness
Cheryl Mehrkar, a former paramedic and fighter with a 4th degree black belt in karate, has lived a life full of excitement and exploration. From bungee jumping across the East River to scuba diving across world class oceans, I embrace challenges.
However, her adventurous spirit was cut short after she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2010. The advanced condition, made worse by the severe disease of COVID-19 left her in 2022 , she relies on 24-hour care and a place on the organ donor waiting list.
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Advanced surgery
On October 22, Mehrkar received a phone call informing her of a possible donation match. Within hours, she was in the pre-operative room at NYU Langone Health, where she met Dr. Stephanie Chang, assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery.
Dr. presented Chang chose to go through a fully robotic procedure, explaining its advantages, including smaller incisions, faster recovery, and less pain. Confident of the potential benefits, Mehrkar agreed to the innovative surgery.
The seven-hour operation involved removing Mehrkar’s damaged lungs and transplanting the donor lungs, all under remote supervision by Dr. Chang using the Da Vinci system Xi. The robotic arms provided unparalleled precision, rotating 360 degrees, while a high-resolution camera provided a magnified 3D view of the surgical site.
“When I woke up, I was able to take deep breaths right away,” Mehrkar said, adding that her breathing has improved every day since the surgery.
- Lung transplant – The Sunday Times
Lung transplant conversion
Traditional lung transplants are often associated with severe pain, long hospital stays, and difficult recovery times. However, the robotic method reduces trauma, reduces scarring, and reduces the risk of infection.
Patients who undergo minimally invasive robotic surgery often recover much faster, and some are even discharged from the hospital the same day.
Dr. Chang, who has performed five single lung transplants using a robot, believes this technology could revolutionize lung surgeries. “I hope that within ten years more than half of the 2,700 double lung transplants performed each year in the United States will use robotic systems,” she said.
However, she admitted that open surgery is still necessary for many patients due to the complexity of a lung transplant.
Expanding applications of robotic surgery
The Da Vinci Xi system is not limited to lung transplants. It has been used successfully in cancer treatment, weight loss surgeries, and procedures related to the digestive system, bladder, and heart. Globally, adoption is increasing, with nearly 2.3 million operations performed using the system in 2023 – a 22% increase on the previous year.
Despite its $1.9 million price tag, the technology is seen as a vital tool to reduce surgical backlogs, especially in health care systems such as the NHS.
Goodbye and a new beginning
For Meherkar, this surgery represents a second chance at life. Although she is not yet ready to return to her adventurous activities, she is looking forward to simpler pleasures, such as using the walking boots that her husband bought her two years ago. She is grateful to the surgical team and the donor, and hopes to one day meet the donor’s family.
“I want them to hear me breathing through their son’s lungs,” she said. “He’s still alive, and he let me live too.”
A new era in medicine
Cheryl Mehrkar’s robotic lung transplant is a testament to the transformative power of medical innovation. As technology advances, procedures like these offer hope to countless patients around the world, reshaping the future of healthcare and recovery.
2024-11-27 23:03:00
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