This photo provided by Seoul National University Hospital shows doctors performing a liver transplant using a robot and a laparoscope.
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul National University Hospital successfully completed a liver transplant procedure without leaving scars for both the organ donor and recipient using a robot and a laparoscope.
The hospital announced on Tuesday that it had succeeded in excising the liver of a donor and transplanting it in a recipient using pure laparoscopic hepatectomy.
The transplant using a robot and a laparoscope without opening the abdomen of the donor was a world first.
Opening the abdomen can leave huge scar marks, but surgery using a robot and a laparoscope leaves only several tiny holes.
To take out and transplant the liver, the pubic bone area must first be excised. This area, however, is covered by underwear. Accordingly, scars are hidden even when the individual is topless.
“The new surgical procedure can free recipients from huge surgery scars, while reducing complications associated with the lungs and scars and shortening the recovery time,” said Suh Kyung-suk, a professor on the liver transplant team.
The results of research into this procedure were published in the American Journal of Transplantation and the British Journal of Surgery.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
