‘Robot-aided surgery has more success rate’
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: “For the patients suffering from complex urological cancers, the world’s most advanced 4th Generation Robot – Da Vinci Xi is a new ray of hope as the robot- aided surgery not only has more success rate but also helps patients with less blood wastage, less pain, less scars and immediate recovery. With the help of newer technologies, we are now able to remove only the tumour and save the kidney in most of the cases”, said Dr Dharmender Aggarwal, Consultant, Urology, Uro-Oncology and Robotic Surgery at Fortis Hospital Mohali.
Dr Aggarwal, who has undergone training in complex cancer surgeries and robot-aided Surgery from London and has performed more than 550 robotic surgeries cases till now, added that compared to the usual stay of 12-14 days in an open surgery, robot-aided surgery allows a patient to walk on the same day of the procedure.
“Robot-aided surgery is the latest form of minimal invasive surgery and provides a 3D view of the operative field via a special camera inserted into the body of the patient. Parts of the body which are difficult to reach with the human hand can be accessed through robot-assisted arms that can rotate 360 degrees, he said,
While citing stories of successful treatment and saving lives of the patients, Dr Aggarwal said, “A 22-year-old patient had been experiencing blood in his urine (hematuria) along with intermittent abdominal pain from quite some time. Medical examinations revealed a large renal mass (8 cm) in his left kidney and the patient was advised to undergo a surgery for removal of the entire left kidney. The case was complex as the renal lesion had not only invaded more than half of his kidney, but was also closely attached to major blood vessels. Robot-aided surgery was advised and performed by the team of doctors. The tumour was not only removed completely, but the large kidney lesion was extracted and the remaining kidney was saved. The patient had a smooth, post-operative recovery and started walking within eight hours of the surgery.”
In another case, a 62-year old patient had been experiencing blood in his urine (hematuria) when medical examination revealed a large tumour (7cm) in his urinary bladder, which was invading into its muscles. Following a thorough examination, Dr Aggarwal and his team performed Robot-assisted Radical Cystectomy (extract the entire bladder and nearby lymph nodes). The Patient’s entire urinary bladder was removed, ureters were joined to a segment of the small bowel, and a new channel was created to pass urine in the Stoma Bag. The Patient started walking within 10 hours of the surgery and he has recovered fully and is living a cancer-free life now.