National Kidney Registry paired kidney exchange program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cI waited a long time, but it\u2019s like I bounced back in no time,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after surgery, they came and got me out of bed, I went for a walk and they sat me up in a chair. It was pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carpenter performed the procedure using the da Vinci Surgical System. She was assisted by Sarah Skeba.<\/p>\n
Unlike a traditional kidney transplant, which requires an incision across the abdomen, robotic-assisted procedures create a tiny incision with high-precision instruments and enhanced 3D visuals.<\/p>\n
Carpenter said the minimally invasive option can reduce wound complications and support faster recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the placement of the incision changes, it\u2019s much easier to heal and less painful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Polka said his incision is just above his belly button, which he believes allowed him more mobility during recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe incision, being kind of mid-area versus lower, has less pain,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it will be a game changer, especially for people who need to get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
A heavy equipment mechanic, Polka is participating in rehab to rebuild his muscle strength.<\/p>\n
The robotic procedure, Carpenter said, can expand accessibility for patients who are older or morbidly obese, or who have complex medical conditions that might carry higher complication risks from a traditional open procedure.<\/p>\n
Polka didn\u2019t fit into any of those descriptions. He\u2019s a self-described \u201cthinner man who is on the younger side and otherwise healthy.\u201d His diabetes led to scleredema, a rare skin condition that can affect kidney disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just lucked into this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really a plus.\u201d<\/p>\n
AHN joins an exclusive number of transplant centers nationwide in performing robotic kidney transplants for recipients. There are about 30 centers across the country, Carpenter said.<\/p>\n
She is grateful that Polka agreed to the landmark procedure, saying \u201cwithout the bravery and willingness, we would never be able to do new things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was stressful and exciting,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cAny time you start something new, you can\u2019t predict how it\u2019s going to go. We have a whole team that put in hundreds of hours of preparation.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that we\u2019ve proven that it can be done and done well, the exciting thing is what we can do in the future. We can expand who we offer transplants to, especially those patients who would\u2019ve previously been turned down.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When James Polka learned a donor kidney was available to replace his failing organ, he never dreamed a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-815482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}