NY woman receives first fully robotic double lung transplant

Cheryl Mehrkar was an “adrenaline junkie” who loved being a scuba divemaster and riding a 2003 Harley-Davidson Sportster in North Carolina, Maine, and near her home in Dutchess County.

he also achieved a 4th degree karate black belt And tried his hand at skydiving and bungee jumping. Now, Meharkar has a new achievement to add to her unusual resume – she is the world’s first recipient of a completely robotic double lung transplant.

“I’m amazed — it’s an incredible thing,” Meherkar, 57, told The Post on Wednesday, shortly after being discharged from NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Stephanie H. Changis an associate professor at Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, leading to the minimally invasive procedure on Oct. 22.

Chang made small incisions between Mehrkar’s ribs before using the da Vinci Xi robotic system to remove Mehrkar’s diseased lungs, prepare his heart and airways for transplant, and sew in the donor lungs.

“The benefits are really a much smaller incision, which leads to better healing for the patient and less pain after the operation,” said Chang, MD, surgical director of the . lung transplant program For NYU Langone Transplant Institute,

The transplant institute performed 76 lung transplants in 2023.

Just a few months ago, Chang was appreciated New technology was used to replace a man’s right lung, leading to the first fully robotic lung transplant in the country.

“This was a huge milestone for us, but the reason double-lung transplants are different is that this is what most patients get,” Chang said. “So we needed to improve the single technology, where it was so small and so efficient that we would be able to make two (lungs) work in a shorter period of time without causing any damage to the new organs.”

After her procedure, which lasted about seven hours, Meherkar was surprised that she could “breathe better” almost immediately.

“And it’s better now,” Meherkar said loudly.

It’s a stark contrast from 15 years ago, when she noticed she was a little out of breath while doing jumping jacks and sit-ups with her karate students at the dojo she co-owned with her husband.

Meharkar came to know about it in 2010 chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseWhich inspired him to quit smoking.

COPD describes a collection of conditions, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which damage the lungs and restrict airflow.

Meherkar was later told that he had a overactive thyroidWhich caused her to lose “an incredible amount” of weight — but it wasn’t until she contracted COVID-19 in 2022 that “everything went haywire.”

She needed oxygen therapy at home and her husband, Shaheen, retired to become her caretaker. they closed their last year dear dojo,

Meharkar underwent surgery just days after being placed on the transplant list. He believes that robotic technology reduced pain and took less time to recover.

“It’s been a very positive, healthy experience,” she enthused.

Meherkar doesn’t think she’ll be as adventurous as she once was, but she hopes to return to the activities she loves, including being a volunteer emergency medical technician with the Union Vale Fire Department in Dutchess County.

And she plans to write a letter to the family of the man who donated his lungs to her.

“I can only imagine the grief that the family must have gone through during my recovery,” Meharkar said. “And I just need them to know that he’s alive and he’s doing well, and I will do everything I can to take care of these lungs — and that’s a promise.”