Mother undergoes life-saving robotic liver transplant with donated organ from daughter in Portugal's medical history
Portugal Pioneers Simultaneous Dual-Robotic Liver Transplants
Robotic surgery in Portugal has made a significant leap forward, as the University Hospital Center of Lisbon Central (CHULC) and ULS São José have both implemented robotic surgery systems. This development has led to Portugal performing one of the earliest instances in Europe of a fully robotic living donor liver transplant using two surgical robots simultaneously.
The groundbreaking operation took place at Curry Cabral Hospital in Lisbon, where one robot was used to extract part of the donor's liver, while another robot simultaneously assisted in the recipient's liver removal and transplantation of the donated liver part. This innovative technique allows both donor and recipient surgeries to be conducted simultaneously, potentially reducing total operative time and improving coordination.
The advantages of robotic surgery in liver transplantation are numerous. The minimally invasive access through small incisions reduces trauma to tissues, while greater surgical precision and dexterity offered by robotic instruments can lead to faster recovery and fewer complications for both donor and recipient. Enhanced visualization and control for the surgical teams also allow complex tasks like simultaneous donor and recipient procedures.
The Robotic Surgery Center at ULS São José, which has been pioneering in Portugal, recently performed a liver transplant a month ago using two surgical robots simultaneously. The operation showed promising results, with both the donor and the recipient, who suffered from chronic hepatic disease with oncological disease, recovering without problems.
The president of ULS São José, Rosa Valente de Matos, highlighted the liver transplant as "yet another excellent example" of the institution's commitment to innovation and robotics. The director of the Hepatobiliary and Transplant Center, Hugo Pinto Marques, also believes that robotics has great advantages in organ donation due to safety and the possibility of faster recovery.
Portugal's pioneering use of simultaneous dual-robotic systems in living donor liver transplantation represents a significant advance in surgical technique, combining the benefits of minimally invasive robotic surgery with improved procedural efficiency. This development not only positions Portugal as a pioneering country in this technique but also helps attract and retain healthcare professionals, according to Rosa Valente de Matos.
It is worth noting that this was the second fully robotic live liver transplant performed in Europe. The first was in Modena, Italy, where only one robot was used, and the donation and transplant procedure were done sequentially. This latest development in Portugal marks a significant step towards further refining and advancing robotic surgery techniques in liver transplantation.
- The Robotic Surgery Center at ULS São Jose, known for its pioneering work in Portugal, is exploring the medical-health domain, focusing on improving health-and-wellness outcomes for individuals with medical-conditions like chronic liver diseases.
- In the field of science and surgical advancements, Portugal's CHULC and ULS São José are leveraging SNS (social networks) to share knowledge and experiences of their groundbreaking work with other centers, aiming to spur further innovation in robotic surgery for medical-conditions like liver transplants.
