Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California, has performed a single-port robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy outside of a clinical trial.
The procedure was carried out on patient Vicky Pan following recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
The 46-year-old pharmacist received the operation from surgeon Dr. Rita Kwan-Feinberg.
She had undergone six months of chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease diagnosed after a clear mammogram.
The FDA cleared the da Vinci single-port surgical system in December for use in nipple-sparing mastectomies.
The approval followed a randomized trial involving 53 patients, which demonstrated short-term safety equivalent to traditional methods, with no conversions to open procedures among the 26 robotic cases.
Pan reflected on the emotional burden of her diagnosis and initial treatment before opting for the double mastectomy.
"I'm still me," she said.
She described the intense physical toll that accompanied six months of chemotherapy. "It's almost designed to strip you of your identity," Pan said.
She noted the psychological impact and fear of physical loss before undergoing the procedure. "Maybe it's vanity, but it's very traumatic, right?"
she said.
Pan recalled her reaction to contemplating surgery and her body image.
"It's not just losing the breast, but it's that after the surgery, you look in the mirror, and you've already lost everything else," she said.
Following her recovery, Pan expressed hope for broader access to the advanced procedure. "I hope more women have this option," she said.
Surgeon Kwan-Feinberg explained the surgical advantages provided by the robotic platform.
"Because there's a lot less tissue trauma, there is a lot less pain, there's faster healing and the cosmetic outcome is great," she said.
Medical professionals provided further context regarding sensation and traditional techniques.
Laura Dominici, a breast cancer surgeon at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, noted the potential clinical impact of preserving nerve pathways.
"I think probably the most compelling thing that people seem to be talking about is whether it may actually preserve more sensation for a patient, because usually after mastectomy, the skin and the nipples are pretty numb," she said.
Deborah Farr, a surgeon at the University of Texas Southwestern who helped introduce the technique to the U.
S. , described the post-surgical physical sensation experienced in traditional mastectomies.
"Even if the reconstructed breasts looked fantastic, patients would often feel as if their breasts were numb and detached, similar to how your legs feel after getting an epidural," she said.
In other breast cancer developments, abstract submissions opened for the 15th Asia-Pacific Breast Cancer Summit, with a deadline of October 2, 2026.
Meanwhile, the Pearson Church of God of Prophecy announced a benefit auction on August 1 to support local resident Gina Johns in her ongoing treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
