Surgeons at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center successfully performed a fully robotic heart transplant on adult patients. This is the first reported in the US.
Using a surgical robot, lead surgeon Dr. Kenneth Riao and his team made small, accurate incisions, eliminating the need to open the chest and break the sternum. Riao removed the sick heart, and the new heart was implanted through the anterior peritoneal space, avoiding a chest incision.
“Opening the chest and spreading the sternum can affect wound healing, slow rehabilitation, and prolong patient recovery, particularly in heart transplant patients taking immunosuppressants,” said Chief Chief Chief of Medicine, a professor of cardiac membrane transplantation and circulation support at Baylor College of Medicine and Chief Chief of Medicthoracic Adjuvant Therapy Room. “The robotic approach helps maintain chest wall integrity, reduce the risk of infection, and helps in early mobility, respiratory function and overall recovery.”
In addition to less surgical trauma, the clinical benefits of robotic heart transplant surgery include avoiding excessive bleeding from bone cutting, reducing the need for blood transfusions, and minimizing the risk of developing antibodies to the implanted heart.
Prior to the implantation procedure, the 45-year-old patient was hospitalized with progressive heart failure since November 2024, requiring multiple mechanical devices to support cardiac function. He had a heart transplant in early March 2025 and spent a month at the hospital after a heart transplant surgery before being discharged home without any complications.
“By becoming home to this medical breakthrough in robotic heart transplantation, Baylor St. Luke's medical centre will further establish itself as a global healthcare leader,” said Dr. Bradley T. Lembuck, president of the hospital. “This pinnacle of heart transplantation brings great pride to our hospitals, increases the legacy of medical outcomes, and considers the most complex health conditions that only sophisticated healthcare systems can handle well.”
“This implantation demonstrates what is possible when innovation and surgical experiences come together to improve patient care. Our goal is to provide patients with the safest, most effective and most invasive procedures, and robotic technology allows them to do so in an extraordinary way,” Liao said.
“This robotic heart transplant represents an incredible, enormous step towards making the most complex surgery safer, and we are delighted to provide this enormous success to the world.”
