HO CHI MINH CITY, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese doctors have, for the first time, performed a kidney removal with assistance of robot, Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday.

Doctors at Cho Ray Hospital in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City have recently conducted kidney removal from living donors using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery.

Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery significantly reduces blood loss, pain and recovery time.

However, the cost of robot-assisted surgery is high, ranging from 90-120 million Vietnamese dong (3,900-5,200 U.S. dollars) a surgery as it is not covered by the national health insurance scheme.