October 2025

PULMONARY

NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE CANNING THORACIC INSTITUTE PERFORMS ILLINOIS’ FIRST-KNOWN ROBOTIC LUNG TRANSPLANT

Featuring: Ankit Bharat, MD, and Samuel S. Kim, MD
Advanced surgical technique replaces traditional open-chest surgery with precision robot-assisted procure through small incisions
Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute has successfully performed the first known robotic double-lung transplant in Illinois, bringing this advanced minimally invasive surgical option to patients in the region. The sophisticated surgical approach uses small chest incisions and robotic precision instead of traditional open-chest surgery, offering select patients reduced surgical trauma and the potential for improved recovery.

“A conventional lung transplant, where we cut through the breastbone and ultimately put it back together, is perhaps the most invasive, complex procedure performed at any hospital.,” says Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute. “A robotic approach allows us to dramatically reduce the invasiveness of the procedure, and we hope it will cut down on the recovery time for patients.”
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The procedure was successfully performed in August on a 63-year-old Illinois man with COPD. The patient was discharged from the hospital and continues to make an optimal recovery.
Advanced surgical benefits
The robotic approach allows surgeons to work precisely using 3D visualization while seated at a console, rather than standing over an open chest for up to ten hours. The robot’s micro-instruments navigate through 4 to 5 small incisions per side, carefully removing diseased lungs and implanting healthy ones.

“The precision we achieve with robotic surgery is remarkable. We can perform incredibly complex maneuvers in tight spaces that human hands simply cannot access as effectively,” says Samuel Kim, MD, thoracic surgeon and director of Robotic Thoracic Surgery at the Canning Thoracic Institute who performed the procedure with Dr. Bharat. “While more long-term data is still needed, we believe recovery time for these patients will be cut in half because they’ll have less post-operative discomfort.
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Available for select candidates
The procedure is ideal for patients with emphysema or lung fibrosis who have large chest cavities, no prior chest surgeries, stable heart function and appropriate anatomy for the robotic approach.

“We carefully select patients where robotics offers clear advantages without compromising safety or speed,” says Dr. Kim. “I don’t think robotic lung transplant will completely replace conventional lung transplant, but I do think it will become more popular in the future.”
Illinois’ leading lung transplant program adds robotic capability
The Canning Thoracic Institute performed 148 lung transplants in 2024 — more than any other transplant center in the United States — with the shortest wait time of just four days. The addition of robotic lung transplantation enhances the program’s comprehensive surgical options.

Since 2014, the Lung Transplant Program has completed more than 600 lung transplants and pioneered multiple innovative approaches, including the first COVID-19 lung transplants in the U.S. The pulmonology and lung surgery program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital is proud to be the highest-ranked in Illinois for 14 straight years and No. 7 in the U.S.
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For more information about the Lung Transplant Program, visit nm.org/pulmonary.
Ankit Bharat, MD, Chief of Thoracic Surgery in the Department of Surgery, Harold L. and Margaret N. Method Professor of Surgery, Professor of Thoracic Surgery and Pulmonary and Critical Care
Samuel S. Kim, MD, Director of Robotic Thoracic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, Professor of Thoracic Surgery and Pulmonary and Critical Care

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