First Fully Robotic Heart Transplant in the U.S.: Key Highlights
First Fully Robotic Heart Transplant in the U.S.: Key Highlights
1. Historic Milestone
In March 2025, surgeons at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston successfully performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in U.S. history.
2. Robotic Technique
The procedure utilized the Da Vinci robotic surgical system, allowing surgeons to avoid opening the chest—the entire operation was completed through small incisions.
3. Clinical Advantages
• Avoiding a full sternotomy (splitting the breastbone) helped preserve chest wall integrity.
• This approach reduced the risk of infection, accelerated wound healing, and improved respiratory function and mobility—especially critical for immunosuppressed transplant patients.
4. Patient Outcome
• The recipient was a 45-year-old male with advanced heart failure, hospitalized for four months.
• He was discharged one month after surgery, with no complications reported.
5. Innovation & Impact
• The procedure was described as a new pinnacle in heart transplantation, signaling what future cardiac surgery may look like.
6. Global Context
• The first-ever fully robotic heart transplant worldwide was performed in September 2024 at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a 16-year-old patient.
Source:
• Published: June 17, 2025
(Houston Chronicle)
• “I want to live”: Houston patient receives first fully robotic heart transplant