Surgeons in Riyadh rebuilt a breast with a robot, a first for Saudi Arabia

Surgeons at Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh have performed what Arab News reported on November 2, 2026, as Saudi Arabia's first robot-assisted breast reconstruction. The patient was a 43-year-old woman who had already had a nipple- and skin-sparing mastectomy after a breast-cancer diagnosis. The team moved skin and fatty tissue from her abdomen to her chest using robotic microsurgery.

The hospital said the robotic approach uses smaller incisions, helps preserve the abdominal wall, and lowers risks tied to the usual operation, including hernia and abdominal bulging. It also said the method may support a faster recovery. Arab News did not give this patient's recovery time, did not name the operating surgeon, and did not report a measured outcome beyond the hospital's account that the procedure was done. This is one completed operation. It is not a trial with many patients, and survival was not the result being reported.