First kidney transplant performed by robot in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
07.01.2013 15:28
The first kidney transplant has been performed in Poland from a living donor by the high-tech Da Vinci Robot, controlled by a surgeon using a remote console.
Medical staff perform first robot kidney transplant: photo - PAP/Maciej Kulczyński
The operation was performed by head surgeon Wojciech Witkiewicz at the Research and Development Centre in the Wroclaw Specialist Hospital, south west Poland on Monday and involved a son donating a kidney to his sick mother.
The surgery by the Da Vinci System enables medical staff to perform operations by making precise incisions, which enable recovery time to be cut significantly.
The robot has four arms, three of which are used for holding tools, such as a scalpel, and one holding the 3-D camera.
The world's first kidney transplant using the Da Vinci robot occurred at the University Hospital of Pisa, Italy, in July 2010.
The Wroclaw hospital has had the technology since 2010 but this was the first kidney transplant performed by the robot.
Only three percent of kidney transplants are made from a live donor in Poland. (pg)