Robot assists in kidney transplant

LONDON, May 18 (UPI) -- British doctors at Guy's Hospital in London have used a robot to assist in a successful live kidney transplant, Sky News reported Wednesday.

The robot, one of only two da Vinci robots in Britain, was directed by a surgeon at a special console to carry out precise movements inside Pauline Payne's body through tiny incisions. Human surgeons then took over and implanted the kidney into Payne's ill fiancé, Raymond Jackson.

The da Vinci had been previously used to remove diseased organs and perform simple reconstructive surgery, but the kidney transplant marked the first time it was used for a procedure as critical and difficult as a live organ transplant.