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.
>>> Trump Administration Moves to Rebuild Federal Election Cyber Agency
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.
>>> Princess and MSC Expand 2028 Alaska Cruise Seasons with New Ships and Upgrades
