Robotic DIEP flap reconstruction in the UK
A robotic DIEP flap uses your own abdominal tissue to rebuild a breast. A surgical robot helps the team free the blood vessels through a smaller opening. In the UK this has been reported at the Royal Free Hospital. It is not yet a standard option everywhere.1
What a DIEP flap is
A DIEP flap (deep inferior epigastric perforator flap) rebuilds a breast using skin and fat from the lower abdomen. The abdominal muscle is left in place. The tissue is moved to the chest and its blood supply is joined under a microscope.
Robotic assistance changes how those abdominal vessels may be reached. It does not change what a DIEP flap is.
What robotic-assisted means
The surgeon still plans and performs the reconstruction. The robot is used mainly to help free the blood vessels in the abdomen through a smaller opening than a traditional harvest.4 The breast is still shaped, and the vessels are still joined, by the surgical team. The robot does not replace microsurgery.
What has been reported in the UK
In March 2026, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust reported the first UK robotically assisted DIEP flap reconstruction, working with The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.1 It is the first reported UK case, though other hospitals may be developing their own programmes.
A 2025 BBC report described an earlier step: keyhole DIEP harvest in a different patient. That was not the 2026 robotic case.2
Press reports said the March 2026 patient stayed three days and told local media she had no abdominal pain from the harvest.3 Those details are one person’s story. They are not a trial result.
What it is not
This is reconstruction after mastectomy — not robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy (RNSM). Papers on robotic mastectomy answer a different question. Their complication rates should not be read as DIEP outcomes.
International background
Robot-assisted DIEP harvest was described in the reconstruction literature before the UK press reports.45 The recent UK news is about the NHS adopting the technique, rather than inventing it.
Questions patients often ask
Might I have less pain in my abdomen?
One UK patient treated with robotic DIEP in 2026 told the press she had no abdominal pain from the harvest. That is a single reported experience. Your pain will depend on the whole operation, not only how the vessels are taken.
How long might I stay in hospital?
The same press reports a three-day stay for the first UK robotic DIEP patient. The team hoped some future patients might go home sooner. Standard DIEP stays are often longer. Your team will advise based on your operation and recovery.
Can I have robotic DIEP reconstruction at Breastory?
Not yet. The London Robotic Breast Institute is an information site. We do not currently offer appointments or a robotic reconstruction service through Breastory.
Is this the same as robotic mastectomy?
No. Robotic DIEP uses the robot during reconstruction, usually at the abdomen. Robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy is a different operation that removes breast tissue. Evidence for that operation is still emerging.
Also on this site
Further reading on Breastory
For the standard DIEP operation and wider reconstruction choices, start on Breastory.
Sources & guidance
Numbers and claims on this page have a numbered source. Open a number in the text or below to read it.
- pressRoyal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. A UK first for robotic reconstruction surgery. 2026 royalfree.nhs.ukNote: First reported UK robotically assisted DIEP flap (press, March 2026) — not peer-reviewed.
- pressBBC News. New breast reconstruction procedure hailed ‘massive breakthrough’. 2025 bbc.co.ukNote: 2025 keyhole DIEP programme — different patient from the March 2026 robotic case.
- pressHam & High. Royal Free Hospital’s first robot-assisted breast surgery. 2026 hamhigh.co.ukNote: First patient's hospital stay and patient-reported abdominal comfort (press).
- reviewBishop SN, Selber JC, et al. Minimally invasive robotic breast reconstruction surgery. Gland Surg. 2021 ncbi.nlm.nih.govNote: Open-access review of robotic DIEP harvest. Does not establish UK outcomes.
- reviewThe full continuum of robotic breast surgery (mastectomy, DIEP, supermicrosurgery). Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2023 ncbi.nlm.nih.govNote: Places robotic DIEP in a wider robotic breast-surgery context.