SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) - Dr. Gazi B. Zibari and the staff at Willis Knighton John C. McDonald Transplant Center has just made history in Northern Louisiana. The first living donor kidney transplant using the da Vinci® XI robotic surgical system was performed at Willis Knighton North. Dr. Gazi Zabari has made medical history in NWLA by performing the first living kidney donor transplant using a robotic surgical system. (Source: Willis Knighton) In a typical living donor kidney transplant, the donor kidneys are removed using either open surgery or the laparoscopic technique. The robotic system allows surgeons to use small, minimally invasive incisions. The doctor sits at a computer console to virtually direct the robot and the surgical instruments. Dr. Zibari said that robotic surgery broadens the transplant patient population because patients who would have otherwise declined the operation because of potential complications now have the chance to become organ donors. "Now this service will provide better quality care for our renal transplant patients," said Zibari. Robotic surgeries are more precise, so there is less pain, fewer complications, and a faster recovery time. Dr. Zibari also said Willis Knighton has been a leader in minimally invasive surgeries in Shreveport-Bossier.