World’s first robotically assisted pancreatic transplant executed

Traditional pancreatic transplants are usually performed in persons with Type 1 diabetes who have severe complications.

It involves replacing the pancreas of a person who has diabetes with a healthy pancreas that can make insulin from a donor who has just died or from a living relative.

The surgery is very complex due to the vascular structure of the organ and the fragile state of the patient.

After the transplant, the patient must take immunosuppressive drugs that are highly toxic and may cause damage to the body.

However, the new procedure is less invasive which cuts the rate of complications post operation tremendously.

At a press conference, lead surgeon, Ugo Boggi stated, "This will put an end to the decades-old dilemma of whether it's possible to do pancreatic transplants because the operation is so invasive when done in the traditional way.”

First robotically assisted pancreatic transplant
The doctors carried out the procedure on Sept. 27 in Pisa Hospital on a 43-year-old mother-of-two who had been ailing from the disease since she was 24 years and had previously received a successful kidney transplant.

The three-hour operation was conducted with the help of the "Da Vinci SHDI robot", a large machine with several arms designed in the multidisciplinary Robotic Surgery centre in Pisa.

With the help of the robotic technique, the doctors were able to remove the woman's pancreas and insert a new organ through three small holes and an incision that was just seven centimetres long.

The patient’s body accepted the new organ. She suffered no complications and was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 30.

Tuscany's councillor for health, Daniela Scaramuccia stated, “We are proud of a school that has been at the forefront of its field for years.

“Robot technology is still at an emerging stage and we believe it will make strides towards an even wider range of surgical applications.”