LEXINGTON, Ky. — UK HealthCare's Transplant Center has performed the first kidney transplant using a surgical robot in Kentucky and the surrounding region, marking a significant advancement in transplant surgery that offers substantial benefits to high-risk patients.

Led by transplant surgeon Matthew W. Black, M.D., the surgical team used the Da Vinci Xi Surgical System to transplant a donor kidney through smaller incisions while preserving the patient's core muscles. Of the 250 transplant centers in the nation, fewer than 40 perform robotic kidney transplant procedures, placing UK HealthCare among an elite group of medical institutions.

The procedure offers clear advantages for patients recovering from major surgery. The minimally invasive approach reduces pain, requires fewer pain medications, and enables quicker recovery compared to traditional open surgery. These benefits carry particular significance in Kentucky, which has been significantly affected by the opioid epidemic. By reducing the need for pain medication, robotic transplants address a critical concern for a state working to combat opioid addiction.

Jeffrey Johnson of Somerset, the first patient at UK HealthCare to receive the robotic procedure, experienced these benefits firsthand. "I can do a sit-up getting out of bed. I never expected to be in that little pain. I've never taken a pain pill," Johnson said, comparing his recovery to a previous hernia surgery that caused far greater discomfort.

Robotic surgery will be particularly beneficial for transplant patients at higher risk of complications, particularly those with elevated body mass indexes or immunosuppressed conditions. "The core advantage of this procedure is that compared to the standard open technique, it has fewer wound complications, such as surgical-site infections," Dr. Black said.

Roberto Gedaly, M.D., director of the UK Transplant Center, emphasized the program's significance. "This achievement, led by Dr. Matthew Black and our multidisciplinary team, places us among a very small number of U.S. centers offering this advanced procedure."

The robotic kidney transplant represents the latest achievement for UK HealthCare's transplant program, which performs more than 200 transplant procedures annually across multiple organ types. In 2023, the program first used surgical robots for living donor nephrectomy procedures, and over the past five years, the volume of liver transplants has more than doubled. UK HealthCare ranks in the top third of transplant centers nationally based on volume.