Surgeons in Saudi Arabia have performed a fully robotic liver transplant using organs from living donors. Robotic surgery was applied throughout both the donor liver removal and the transplantation process.
The procedure is part of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre’s advanced robotic liver transplant programme, which has now exceeded 100 robotic liver transplant surgeries.
This case marks a world first, as the patient required two left liver lobes from two related living donors to ensure sufficient liver volume for the recipient while maintaining a safe residual liver volume for each donor.
The achievement demonstrates KFSHRC’s ability to deliver highly personalised treatment through a fully robotic pathway that encompasses both donor surgeries and the transplant.
This approach expands the scope of what can be safely achieved in living-donor liver transplantation while maintaining the highest standards of donor safety.
The surgery was completed successfully, with no complications reported for either the donors or the recipient.
Both donors were discharged from the hospital on the third postoperative day. The patient was transferred out of intensive care after seven days and completed the required inpatient recovery under medical supervision.
Professor Dieter Broering, executive director of organ transplantation, said the procedure reflects the gradual expansion of robotic surgery in liver transplantation, supported by years of accumulated expertise.
He noted that advanced technologies are used to enhance surgical safety, accelerate recovery, and improve long-term quality of life, while ensuring strict protection of donor safety at every stage of care.
