{"id":796126,"date":"2026-05-14T15:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/796126\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:43:16","slug":"fact-check-did-rfk-jr-perform-heart-surgery-on-a-live-patient-in-ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/796126\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact Check: Did RFK Jr Perform Heart Surgery on a Live Patient in Ohio?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A report that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. briefly operated robotic hands on a live patient undergoing heart surgery is being shared on social media, but the clinic has confirmed this is not true.<\/p>\n

Screengrabs of the report have circulated on social media and multiple people are voicing safety concerns. Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio, has since explained that this never happened and the report has now been corrected.<\/p>\n

The Claim<\/p>\n

Healthcare outlet KFF Health News<\/a> on Wednesday published a story about Kennedy Jr.\u2019s visit to Cleveland Clinic, reporting that he briefly operated the robotic hands being used on a live patient.<\/p>\n

The initial version<\/a> of the story, seen by Newsweek, said: \u201cUnder the careful watch of a surgeon, and with the machine disconnected, Kennedy briefly tested the teaching console of the renowned Cleveland Clinic\u2019s robotic hands with a live patient splayed open for heart surgery in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

A screengrab of this report was shared by MSN reporter Brandy Zadrozny, garnering more than 194,000 views, with the caption: \u201cThe way I would sue for every dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others commented on the post, asking about whether the patient had consented to the action while some asked whether Kennedy Jr. carried out the correct hygiene procedures.<\/p>\n

The Facts<\/p>\n

The KFF Health News reporter wrote the story, Amanda Seitz, later said that the clinic had called her to say the machine was disconnected from the patient when Kennedy Jr. used it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cleveland Clinic called me a few moments ago to say the robotic hands were disconnected to the patient as Kennedy sat at the console,\u201d Seitz said in a post<\/a> on X. “I asked about his use of the machine in the OR and was not told it was disconnected. We’ll update the story soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zadrozny later shared Seitz’s update alongside his original post. <\/p>\n

The new version of the story<\/a> said: \u201cUnder the careful watch of a surgeon, and with the machine disconnected, Kennedy briefly tested the teaching console of the renowned Cleveland Clinic\u2019s robotic hands with a live patient splayed open for heart surgery in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seitz also shared<\/a> an explanation from surgeon Vamsi Aribindi who said: \u201cYou need to ‘swap’ the instruments to take control on the Da Vinci platform, so he could do whatever he wanted on a console and nothing would happen so long as he didn’t hit the swap pedal to take control of the instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ruling<\/p>\n

The claim is false.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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