The Facts

• The world's first fully robotic double lung transplant was performed on Oct. 22 at the NYU Langone Health Center in Manhattan. The recipient was Cheryl Mehrkar, a 57-year-old New York resident, now released from hospital.

• The procedure on Mehrkar, a scuba divemaster and motorcyclist whose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, marks a breakthrough in robotic surgery and minimally invasive transplant.

• Dr Stephanie H Chang, chief of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute's lung transplant program, led the surgery. Following the successful procedure, Mehrkar, whose illness was diagnosed in 2010, said: "I’ve been in awe."