A team from the Duke Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery has performed the first robotic bilateral lung transplant in the Southeast, and one of the first in the U.S. The patient is recovering as expected from the procedure.
The operative surgeons for the procedure were Hiroshi Date, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery; Matthew Hartwig, MD, Professor of Surgery; Jacob Klapper, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery; and Kunal Patel, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery. The operative physician's assistant was Kenneth Boccaccio, PA.
The team previously performed Duke's first fully robotic single lung transplant in February 2025.
Duke is currently one of only a handful of centers in the U.S. performing fully robotic lung transplants. As the highest-volume lung transplant center in the U.S., with more than 2,500 lung transplants performed to date, this marks a significant milestone for the Duke Lung Transplant Program.
The ability to offer more advanced, less invasive options with more efficient recovery times is highly beneficial for patients who seek exceptional surgical care at Duke, a population that largely includes patients aged 65 and older and those with with complex illnesses.
"Our patients rely on us to provide the most advanced, efficient, and effective methods of care possible," says Dr. Klapper, who serves as surgical director for the Duke Lung Transplant Program. "We can proudly say that robotic lung transplant surgery, an innovation that benefits patient and surgeon alike, is among those at Duke."
Learn more about the Duke Lung Transplant Program.