VCU Health performs nation’s first fully robotic living donor liver transplant

Richmond-based VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center made history this month by becoming the first center in the United States to perform a fully robotic liver transplant using a liver from a living donor.

VCU Health said the procedure, which was led by the interim surgical director of liver transplant Seung Duk Lee, used the da Vinci 5 surgical system, the latest and most advanced robotic technology available.

“This achievement marks a new era in liver transplantation, allowing us to perform highly complex procedures with greater precision, less invasiveness, and improved outcomes for our patients,” Lee said in a statement. “Very few centers offer robotic surgery for liver transplant patients, but at Hume-Lee, we are committed to redefining what is possible in order to offer our patients safer, faster recoveries with fewer complications.”

According to VCU Health, one of the advantages of robotic-assisted liver transplantation over traditional open surgery is smaller incisions, which reduce pain and scarring. Other advantages include greater precision and control, reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery times.

Director of Hume-Lee Transplant Center David Bruno in a statement that a procedure of this complexity required both cutting-edge technology and “an incredible team of experts.”

“Being the first in the nation to complete a fully robotic living donor liver transplant is a testament to the collaboration, skill and dedication of our surgeons, transplant hepatologists, and entire care team,” Bruno said. “Innovation in transplant surgery doesn’t happen in isolation — it happens through teamwork, and I’m incredibly proud of our continued advancement in this field to positively impact our patients.”

VCU Health Assistant Director of Public Relations Leigh Farmer said VCU Health began using the da Vinci system in 2014 and acquired the latest da Vinci 5 robot in December of 2024.

“We were the first in the world to use this system for living donor liver retrieval in January of this year,” she said in an email. This month, VCU Health used the same system on a recipient of a liver from a living donor.

VCU Health says the need for liver transplants is growing and pointed to CDC data showing that 4.5 million adults 18 and older are diagnosed with liver disease.

Because thousands of patients are being added to the liver transplant waitlist every year, VCU Health says there is an urgent need for innovative surgical approaches that improve access to transplantation.