Robotic Kidney Transplants Conducted at Fortis

By Samachar Vishesh News

Jalandhar 29th September:- In a boon to kidney failure patients, robotic kidney transplants have now become a reality and are being successfully conducted at Fortis Hospital in Mohali. Unlike the traditional kidney transplantation where the patient receives a kidney through a large muscle cutting incision (approximately 25-30 cms), in Robotic kidney transplant, the kidney is placed through a small 5 centimeters incision, in the belly button, without cutting any muscle. As a result of this the blood loss is significantly less, chances of infection are minimal, there is hardly any pain and the patient’s recovery is quick, informed Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan, Senior Consultant, Urology, Robotics and Kidney Transplantation, Fortis Mohali.

It’s been a significant revolutionary medical advancement in the lives of the patients, which is very helpful for their recovery. Now Chandigarh becomes the third city in the country and tenth center in the world to regularly offer this highly sophisticated surgery.

Till date, twelve patients have received a successful kidney transplant through this technique at Fortis Mohali. The latest surgery was done on 27th September at Fortis Hospital, Mohali. Achieving this extraordinary surgical feat places Dr Ranjan in top ten surgeons in the world, who are capable of doing a successful Robotic Kidney Transplantation.  Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan said that till date we have done twelve Robotic Kidney Transplants, and all of our patients are living a healthy life with a functioning kidney now.

Unlike the traditional regular kidney transplantation, where the patient receives the kidney through a larger muscle cutting process, robotic surgery is conducted with only a small incision and involves no cutting of muscle. The Da Vinci robot is used in a specific way to ensure tremor free movement of the instrument thus causing no damage to the graft kidney. This ensures minimal chances of infection and faster recovery of the patient and the donor.

Sirsa resident Boti Devi(55) donated the organ to her son Sandeep (23) after he was admitted to the hospital with renal failure. Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan said that the family was apprised about the latest robotic technology and its benefits, including lesser risk of infection, lesser pain, and a faster return to normalcy. Higher magnification and finer scaled miniaturized movements of robotic instruments ensured greater precision in this surgery.

Dr Priyadarshi Ranjan said that it has been a privilege to perform Punjab’s first robotic kidney transplant at the hospital considering it is the first of its kind in the stat. He informed that the team worked together and we are thrilled that all the patients and donors are doing well and all the operations have been a great success.

These patients were on dialysis for a varying duration. He said that the robotic surgery involved much lesser pain. He was initially reluctant, but the doctors convinced him about the benefits. He is happy that he went ahead with it.  Narrating her experience, Beena said she decided to give her kidney for her husband’s normal life,” who added that she did her own research about the surgery before going ahead with it.

Patients suffering from chronic renal diseases tend to prefer renal replacement compared to dialysis for various reasons. Only three centers in India including Fortis Mohali have been regularly and actively performing these transplants as of now, with excellent results.

Robotic kidney transplant is going to be the future in next decade. The incidence of adverse medical events and complications is one fifth to one tenth of a traditional kidney transplant and the benefits are immense. The kidney function and overall patient’s recovery is far superior than a traditional transplant.The patient has a very small incision so his natural daily life is not altered after the transplant. The problem however is of it being a technically complex procedure and hence there are only a few surgeons who are able to perform this procedure and deliver good results. The learning curve is steep, thereby dissuading many surgeons from taking it up, hence it is practiced only in select elite institutions of the world.