World's First Robotic Left Liver Lobe Transplant Performed in Saudi Arabia

King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) has achieved another world achievement for the first time by performing a fully robotic left lobe liver transplant from a living donor. The novel technique, led by the Executive Director of the Organ Transplant Center of Excellence, Dieter Broering, promises all the benefits of robotic transplant—enhanced precision, reduced recovery times, and fewer complications—to a broader segment of patients, KFSHRC stated in a news release.
Living donor liver transplants are mainly confined to right-lobe grafts. The breakthrough of utilizing robotics in left lobe liver transplants offers new hope for patients previously deemed ineligible for minimally invasive transplant surgery due to anatomical challenges.
The procedure was performed on two patients: a 26-year-old with end-stage liver disease due to autoimmune hepatitis and a 48-year-old with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). KFSHRC's medical team used the latest robotic system to transplant left-lobe grafts from living donors. This technique improved the outcomes for both recipients and donors, as the precision of the robotic system enabled better surgical views. Both cases reported positive outcomes, with minimal blood loss and short ICU stays (2–4 days).
KFSHRC has strengthened its position as a global leader in robotic transplant surgery. In 2023, it performed the world's first fully robotic liver transplant from a living donor, followed by 31 fully robotic liver transplants. In 2024, it made headlines again with the world's first fully robotic heart transplant.
KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and 20th globally on the list of the world's top 250 academic medical centers for the second consecutive year. It has also been recognized as the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the 2024 Brand Finance rankings. Additionally, in the same year, it was ranked among the world's best 250 hospitals and included in Newsweek magazine's World's Best Smart Hospitals list for 2025. For more information, visit www.kfshrc.edu.sa or contact our media team at mediacoverage@kfshrc.edu.sa.