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. She reportedly made small incisions between Mehrkar's ribs for the da Vinci Xi robotic system to replace her lungs.