Doctors at Max Hospital, Patparganj perform robot-assisted reconstructive surgery on a 32-yr-old patient
21st March 2023, New Delhi: A 32-year-old man, a resident of Delhi, recently underwent a complex robot-assisted reconstruction surgery using skin from his oral cavity at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj for the removal of a urine bag hanging outside his body and repair of the blocked ureter.
Before presenting to Max Hospital, Patparganj, Delhi NCR’s leading healthcare provider, the patient underwent ureteroscopy (the process of removing ureteric stones) at some other hospital but stone could not be removed. Post Ureteroscopy, he had developed a 7 cm long stricture in the ureter. This patient had three unsuccessful procedures and ended up further damaging the ureter/ infecting the kidney. The infection in his kidney was due to the blockage by the stone, during the unsuccessful Ureteroscopy. The consequence of this was that the patient had been living with a kidney tube (nephrostomy) and with a urine bag hanging outside his body for three months.
The urinary bag-hanging outside his body was not only causing hindrance to the patient’s daily routine but he also developed an infection along with pain in the kidney. He then came to Max Hospital, Patparganj under the supervision of Dr. Shailesh Chandra Sahay, Director of Urology.
After evaluating the patient’s condition and to relieve his symptoms, Dr. Sahay and his team with Dr Pawan Kesarwani used a rare approach by grafting skin from the patient’s oral cavity to repair the blocked ureter. The surgery lasted 3 hours and was performed robotically, with minimal incisions to avoid significant blood loss and aided in rapid recovery.
Commenting on the same, Dr. Shailesh Chandra Sahay, Director – Urology, Max Hospital, Patparganj said, “Ureteric stone is a very common problem in adults but ureteric stricture leading to complete blockage and putting a nephrostomy tube is very rare. Normally a procedure like this would require a large incision and leave behind significant scarring. This was quite a challenging case, but the use of robotic-assisted surgery allowed for 3D vision and better ergonomics, which aided in the successful application of the oral mucosal graft to the ureter. The urine bag, which was hanging outside the body for almost 3 months, was finally removed after the successful surgery.”
The patient has since made a full recovery, and was discharged from the hospital after 3 days and is now living a healthy life. We hope that this will raise awareness amongst the people about the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery and help more patients with similar conditions achieve positive outcomes and lead healthy life.