NY woman receives first fully robotic double lung transplant

Cheryl Mehrkar was an “adrenaline junkie” who enjoyed being a master scuba diver and riding her 2003 Harley-Davidson Sportster in North Carolina, Maine, and near her home in Dutchess County.

She had also achieved a fourth degree black belt in karate and practiced skydiving and skydiving. Now, Mehrkar has a new achievement for her unusual resume – she is the world’s first recipient of a fully robotic double lung transplant.

“I’ve been blown away — it’s unbelievable,” Mehrkar, 57, told The Post on Wednesday shortly after being fired from NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Stephanie H. Chang, an associate professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, led the minimally invasive procedure on Oct. 22.

Chang made small incisions between Mehrkar’s ribs before using the da Vinci Xi robotic system to remove her diseased lungs, prepare the heart and airways for implantation and sew in the donor lungs.

“The benefits are much smaller incisions, so better recovery for the patient and less postoperative pain,” said Chang, surgical director of the Lung Transplant Program for the NYU Langone Transplant Institute.

The transplant institute performed 76 lung transplants in 2023.

Just a few months ago, Chang was praised for leading the nation’s first fully robotic lung transplant, using the new technique to replace a man’s right lung.

“It was a very big milestone for us, but the reason the double lung transplant is different is that’s what most patients get,” Chang explained. “So we had to improve the only technique where it was short enough and efficient enough that we could do two [lungs] in a short environment without any damage to the young organs.”

After her procedure, which took about seven hours, Mehrkar marveled that she could “breathe well” almost immediately.

“And it just got better,” Mehrkar went on.

It’s a stark contrast from 15 years ago, when she noticed she was out of breath while doing jumps and sit-ups with her karate students at the dojo she co-owns with her husband.

Mehrkar was diagnosed in 2010 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which prompted him to quit smoking.

COPD describes a group of conditions, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that damage the lungs and restrict airflow.

Mehrkar was later informed that she had an overactive thyroid, which caused her to lose “tremendous amounts” of weight – but it wasn’t until she contracted COVID-19 in 2022 that “everything went downhill”.

She needed oxygen therapy at home, and her husband, Shahin, came out of retirement to become her caregiver. They closed their beloved dojo last year.

Mehrkar underwent surgery just days after being placed on the transplant list. She believes the robotic technique led to less pain and a shorter recovery time.

“It’s been such a positive and healthy experience,” she enthused.

Mehrkar doesn’t imagine she’ll be as adventurous as she once was, but she hopes to return to the activities she enjoys, including being a volunteer emergency medical technician with the Union Vale Fire Department in Dutchess County.

And she plans to write a letter to the family of the man who donated his lungs.

“I can only imagine the grief that family went through while I was recovering,” Mehrkar said. “And I need them to know that he’s alive and doing well, and I’m going to do everything I can to take care of these lungs — and that’s a promise.”