Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town have performed South Africa's first robotic living donor nephrectomy, removing a healthy kidney from a mother for transplantation into her daughter.
The procedure used a da Vinci Xi robotic platform , which gives surgeons four robotic arms controlled from a 3D console. The system enabled the team to employ a less invasive approach, reducing pain and accelerating recovery for the donor.
Surgeon Dr Danelo du Plessis led the operation as a joint appointee of Stellenbosch University and the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness. The transplanted kidney began functioning immediately.