Robotic-Assisted Kidney Transplant

Henry Ford is the first and only transplant center in Michigan using robotic-assisted surgical techniques to perform kidney transplants. Because robotic-assisted surgery is a minimally invasive approach, it can be a good option for patients considered too ill to undergo traditional open surgery.

What is robotic-assisted kidney transplant surgery?

In robotic-assisted surgery, our surgeons use a computer-controlled robotic arm to perform the transplant. The surgeons direct the movements of the arm and use tiny instruments inserted through small incisions to transplant the donor kidney.

Benefits of robotic-assisted kidney transplant surgery

Both transplant recipients and living kidney donors benefit from robotic-assisted surgery. Other benefits include:

• Smaller incisions
• Less scarring
• Reduced pain
• Lower risk of infection
• Faster recovery

Henry Ford: Pioneers in robotic-assisted kidney transplant surgery

Doctors at Henry Ford helped pioneer a breakthrough cooling technique that gives surgeons more time to robotically transplant kidneys from living donors. This cooling technique increases the chances of a successful transplant by helping preserve kidney tissue.

During this innovative approach, Henry Ford doctors:

• Place the donated kidney in special gauze wrapping
• Immediately cool the wrapped, donated kidney in a sterile ice mixture
• Use a special device to inject a sterile ice mixture into the area of the recipient’s body where the donated kidney will go
• Insert the kidney through a small incision near the recipient’s belly button
• Use a robotic device to surgically connect the donated kidney to the recipient’s arteries, veins and ureter