Surgeons in New York are the first in the world to complete a fully robotic double lung transplant. The team at NYU Langone Health successfully performed the surgery on 57-year-old Cheryl Mehrkar.
Mehrkar was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, in 2010.
Her condition got worse after a bout with Covid-19 in 2022.
Up until then, Mehrkar managed her COPD while staying active. She traveled the world as a scuba diver and motorcyclist. But as her health declined, she had to stop doing the things she loved.
Mehrkar had several months of evaluation before being placed on the lung transplant list.
Four days later, she got the life-changing surgery.
“I never imagined I could breathe on my own like I am with brand new lungs – what a gift,” Mehrkar said. “I’m here because I got a second chance at life.”
The surgeons used the da Vinci Xi robotic system. It’s a minimally invasive technique for performing complex procedures with enhanced precision and control through small incisions using a 3-D high-definition camera and specialized instruments that mimic the movements of the surgeon’s hands.
It was previously only used for single lung transplants.
The lead surgeon, Dr. Stephanie Chang said she and her team prepared for the seven-hour surgery for six months. They performed multiple, single robotic lung transplants to perfect their workflow.
“The reason why double lung transplant is different is that’s what a majority of patients get and so we needed to improve the single technique where it was short enough and efficient enough for us to be able to do two in a short setting without any damage to the new organ,” Chang said.
Dr. Chang added that she is happy with how well Mehrkar’s lungs responded through the surgical process.
She’s optimistic that Mehrkar will be able to go back to doing all of her favorite activities once she’s fully recovered.
