Khaberni - The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, successfully performed a complete robotic surgery liver transplantation operation for a patient from living donors. The procedure involved liver resection from the donors and transplantation to the patient, as part of an advanced series of robotic liver transplant surgeries that have been carried out at the hospital exceeding 100 operations.
This surgical intervention is the first of its kind globally, as the patient's condition required obtaining two left lobes of the liver from living relatives to ensure a sufficient liver size, while maintaining a safe liver volume for each donor.
Custom-designed therapeutic solutions
This procedure demonstrates the ability of the Center of Excellence for Organ Transplantation to offer custom-designed therapeutic solutions, tailored specifically for each case through a fully robotic process that includes surgeries for the donors and the liver transplantation for the recipient, expanding the scope of what can be safely accomplished in liver transplants from living donors.
The results of the operation were positive with no complications recorded for both donors and the recipient; the donors left the hospital on the third day after surgery, while the recipient stabilized and was discharged from intensive care after seven days, before completing the necessary hospitalization period for medical follow-up and supportive care during the recovery phase.
Professor Dieter Broering, the Executive Director of Organ Transplantation at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, confirmed that this procedure reflects the phased expansion in using robotic surgery in liver transplantation, based on a long cumulative experience in the field, noting that employing advanced technologies aims to support surgical safety, speed up recovery, and improve long-term quality of life, with strict commitment to maintaining the safety of the donors at all stages of treatment.
The first in the Middle East and Africa
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center has been ranked first in the Middle East and Africa, and 15th globally among the top 250 global academic healthcare institutions for the year 2025, and the highest valued health brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to "Brand Finance" for 2024, and it was also listed in "Newsweek" magazine’s list of the world’s best hospitals for the year 2025, the best smart hospitals for the year 2026, and the best specialty hospitals for the year 2026.
