Saifee Hospital conducts first robotic surgery for kidney cancer

In a pioneering move for the Indian medical fraternity, Saifee Hospital became the first medical service provider in India to successfully conduct a robotic kidney cancer surgery on a patient who had previously undergone a kidney transplant. The first-of-its-kind surgery was performed by Dr. Anup Ramani, Uro-Oncological Robotic Surgeon, Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Saifee Hospital and Dr. Hemal Shah, Head of Department of Nephrology and Consultant at Saifee Hospital. The surgery, which lasted a mere 40 minutes, was used to remove the cancerous kidney without any damage to the functional transplanted kidney.

Robotic surgery ensured minimum blood loss, minimum pain and minimum hospital stay (three days), which were the factors played a role in preventing infection, in this immunocompromised patient. This robotically assisted system allows the surgeon a three-dimensional view of organs such as kidney and prostate by magnifying the image to twelve times the size visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, due to 360-degree movement of robotic arms, robotic surgery is the most precise, minimally invasive and necessary approach for a critical surgery of this kind. In fact, robotic surgery is the standard procedure that is followed worldwide, in the case of such uro-oncological conditions. Saifee Hospital, being one of the few hospitals in India to be equipped with the latest robot, could perform this critical surgery due to its technological investments, and more importantly, due to its highly experienced team of specialised doctors.

“Over the last 10 years, robotic surgery has grown to become the pinnacle of precision for surgical treatments related to kidney cancer or prostate cancer across the world. Open surgery has phased out because robotic surgery significantly reduces blood loss, pain and invasiveness as compared to open surgery. This ensures faster recovery and better long term results. Since, the patient had a rare uro-oncological condition, in which the transplanted kidney was in close proximity  to the cancerous kidney, the robotically assisted surgery allowed me to remove the cancerous kidney with as much precision. There was no blood loss and the patient was discharged within three days of surgery.” said Dr Anup Ramani Uro-Oncological Robotic Surgeon, Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Saifee Hospital.

“Over five years ago, the patient had undergone a kidney transplant surgery. In early June this year, after the patient reported an abdominal pain, a CT scan was advised by the doctor. The reports revealed a cancerous tumour in the patient’s failed kidneys. In order to treat this condition, we needed to ensure a complete removal of the cancer with minimum chances of infection. Due to its well-equipped infrastructure, the Saifee Hospital was able to perform the surgery in a precise, efficient and affordable manner.” said Dr. Hemal Shah, Head of Department of Nephrology and Consultant at Saifee Hospital.

Dr Sushil Chauhan, Anaesthetist at Saifee Hospital was also a part of this exceptional surgery.