The future is now, guys. Staff members at Shanghai’s Zhongshan hospital announced today that Asia’s first-ever robot-assisted liver transplant surgery, involving a mother and her 20-month-old son, was successfully completed this past week.
Shanghai Daily reports that the 31-year-old woman donated around 20 percent of her liver in order to save the life of her child who was diagnosed with liver disease and biliary atresia.
The surgery was performed on February 27 at Zhongshan hospital where a part of the mother’s liver was collected with the help of a surgical robot. Doctors say the robot is more concise than an unassisted surgeon.
The surgery is minimally invasive and left only slight scarring–only one-fourth the length typical of a standard operation.
Fan Jia, a staff member at the hospital, said that the mother and her child have been recovering well, with the woman already able to walk the day after the surgery.
“With the assistance of the robot, the incision is much smaller and causes less bleeding and less pain for the donor,” Fan was quoted as saying.
“The advanced technology can help relieve a donor’s anxiety and fear about a donation and complications afterward.”
Comments