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The surgical team that performed South Africa’s first robotic donor nephrectomy at Tygerberg Hospital.
Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town have successfully performed South Africa’s first living donor kidney removal using robotic surgery technology.
The procedure involved a 45-year-old woman donating a kidney to her 24-year-old daughter.
Urologist Dr. Danelo du Plessis, who carried out the surgery, says the surgery exceeded their expectations as it was completed in under 90 minutes.
Experts have described it as a milestone, which makes organ donation safer and less invasive for living donors.
The system’s four robotic arms allowed surgeons to operate through a less invasive approach, enabling faster recovery.
The donor was discharged the following day, while the transplanted kidney began functioning immediately. –Reporting by Lerato Dlalisa.
