Seoul National University Hospital Achieves World's First 'Minimal-Scar' Laparoscopic Liver Transplantation Success

Laparoscopic-Robotic Hybrid Liver Transplant Surgery Scene by the Liver Transplant Team at Seoul National University Hospital (Photo by Seoul National University Hospital)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The liver transplant team at Seoul National University Hospital has succeeded for the first time in the world in performing recipient liver transplantation using purely laparoscopic surgery.

On the 28th, Seoul National University Hospital announced that in April, its liver transplant team (Kyungseok Seo, Kwangwoong Lee, Namjun Lee, Youngrok Choi, Seokgyun Hong, and Eesoo Han) successfully resected the donor's liver using purely laparoscopic surgery and also transplanted the liver to the recipient using purely laparoscopic surgery, marking a world first.

Using laparoscopic surgery for liver transplantation in recipients, not just for donor liver resection as in conventional open surgery, had been considered impossible. Unlike open surgery, which leaves a large lifelong scar on the patient, laparoscopic surgery leaves only a few small holes on the patient's abdomen, and the incision in the pubic area for liver extraction and transplantation is mostly concealed by underwear, offering greater advantages. However, no hospital worldwide had performed laparoscopic surgery on both donor and recipient until now.

However, Seoul National University Hospital's liver transplant team not only succeeded in recipient transplantation using purely laparoscopic surgery in April but also achieved successful transplantation through laparoscopic-robotic hybrid surgery in June for a 51-year-old patient with autoimmune cirrhosis and a 60-year-old patient with hepatocellular carcinoma. In July, they also succeeded in purely robotic transplantation for a 63-year-old patient with primary sclerosing cholangitis and a 49-year-old patient with cirrhosis. They also reached the 500th case of purely laparoscopic donor liver resection. All of these are world firsts.

Professor Kyungseok Seo said, “This surgery is a world-first achievement of liver transplantation in recipients using purely laparoscopic-robotic methods,” adding, “Recipients can be freed from large surgical scars, reduce frequently occurring lung and wound complications, and shorten recovery time.”

The achievements of Seoul National University Hospital's liver transplant team are expected to be published in world-renowned journals such as the American Journal of Transplantation and the British Journal of Surgery.