Saudi Arabia
Riyadh's Security Forces Hospital says it did Saudi Arabia's first robotic breast rebuild
The hospital says it rebuilt a 43-year-old patient's breast with her own abdominal tissue, using a robotic approach. The "first in the Kingdom" label comes from the hospital's own announcement.
What the hospital announced
Sabq reported on 1 November 2026 that Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh announced a successful breast reconstruction using robotic surgical technology. The hospital is under the Ministry of Interior's Medical Services. It describes the operation as the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.1,2
The patient was a 43-year-old woman. She had earlier undergone a nipple- and skin-sparing mastectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis.1,2
How the operation works
According to the reports, surgeons took skin and fatty tissue from the abdomen and moved it to the chest using microsurgical techniques. The robotic approach used very small incisions.1,2
Reference material from medical centers describes this family of operations as DIEP flap surgery, which rebuilds a breast after mastectomy with the patient's own tissue. DIEP stands for deep inferior epigastric perforator, the blood vessels that feed the transplanted tissue. The reports on this case do not use the term, so the link is a general description of the technique.3
In reference descriptions of robotic versions, a surgeon uses the da Vinci system to remove the tissue flap from the abdomen. Surgeons then use a microscope to reconnect tiny blood vessels to vessels in the chest, which restores blood flow. Once blood supply is connected, the tissue is shaped into a breast.3,4
The hospital's claims about benefits
According to the announcement, the robotic technology preserves the abdominal wall and may reduce complications such as hernia and abdominal bulging, while improving precision. The hospital gave no data for this.1,2
Medical reference sources note that a major advantage of DIEP flap surgery in general is that the abdominal rectus muscles are not lost when the tissue is harvested. The flap was first described in 1991 by a Japanese microsurgeon.5
The robot platform
The breast-surgery reports do not name the robot model. A Saudi Press Agency item dated 27 October 2026 says the hospital's announced platform is Intuitive's da Vinci 5, and that it is the first hospital in Saudi Arabia to deploy the fifth generation of the da Vinci system. Whether that system was used in this operation is not stated.6
What could not be verified
- Whether this is the first such procedure in Saudi Arabia: the status comes from the hospital's own announcement, with no independent confirmation.
- The claimed reduction in hernia and bulging: the hospital's statement, with no data given.
- Which robotic system was used in this operation: the reports do not name it.
- The patient's long-term outcome: the hospital's announcement describes only an initial success.
- Whether the procedure is now routinely offered to other patients, and its cost, duration and team size: not disclosed.
Sources
- Sabq, 1 Nov 2026
- Saudi Gazette, 1 Nov 2026
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Microsurgeon.org
- Saudi Press Agency (SPA), 27 Oct 2026