Using a special robot: the revolutionary lung transplant performed in Israel

Beilinson Hospital performed a lung transplant using the da Vinci robot, without opening the chest and ribs. The procedure, carried out last month, is one of about 20 worldwide. The surgeons used small holes in the chest to connect the new lung, and the patient barely needed painkillers.

Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva performed a revolutionary lung transplant last month using the da Vinci robot, without opening the chest and ribs. This is one of about 20 robotic lung transplants performed worldwide, the first of which was done three years ago in Spain. The surgery, led by Dr. Yuri Peysakhovich, head of the thoracic surgery department, involved dozens of staff members. The new approach avoids the traditional technique involving sawing, full chest opening, and rib spreading, which causes severe pain. Dr. Peysakhovich called the procedure a "turning point" and noted that the goal is for robotic surgery without chest opening to become the standard within five years. Dr. Dan Gorfel, director of the cardiothoracic intensive care unit, said the patient barely needed painkillers except for paracetamol, which shortened his stay in intensive care. The hospital noted that about a month before the robotic surgery, a preliminary procedure without chest opening was performed, which prepared the conditions for the robotic transplant.