A team of doctors in Mumbai successfully performed robotic-assisted cystoprostatectomy on a 71-year-old man with bladder cancer. The surgery was done to remove his urinary bladder and prostate gland.
The doctors at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, said that robotic surgery is preferred over conventional surgery when treating elderly patients with such condition as it allows faster recovery.
Symptoms of Bladder Cancer
According to the hospital, the patient was admitted with complaints of increased frequency, urgency and occasional hematuria (blood in urine). He also had past history of diabetes mellitus. He was recommended for full body PET/CT scan and the results showed tumour in the urinary bladder, involving bilateral VU junction causing hydroureteronephrosis (swelling of ureters). Then the patient underwent transurethral resection of tumor (removal of bladder tumor) for extraction of sample for biopsy. The test report confirmed urinary bladder cancer.
Considering the age of the patient and severity of the condition, the doctors decided to perform a robotic-assisted surgery to remove the urinary bladder and prostate gland.
Dr Amolkumar Patil, Sr Consultant Urology, Uro Oncology, Kidney Transplant & Robotic Surgery Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai said, “Since both prostate gland and urinary bladder was removed from the patient’s body, we performed an ileal conduit procedure wherein a new tube from the intestine is created for the kidney pipes to drain and the urine to exit the body.”
The patient also underwent four cycles of chemotherapy. Now, he is stable and doing well, the hospital said.
Advantages of robotic-assisted surgery
According to Dr Patil, robotic-assisted surgery is minimally invasive and enables high surgical accuracy.
Compared to conventional surgery, blood loss is less in robotic-assisted surgery and therefore chances of infection are significantly reduced, and patients recover faster. Also, there is a positive impact on resources for both patients and healthcare facilities, he added.
Santosh Marathe, Regional CEO Western Region, Apollo Hospitals asserted, “A robotic surgery helps us treat elderly patients efficiently as quick recoveries are vital for elderly patients and such curative care techniques improve their quality of life.”
Till date, more than 9200 robotic-assisted surgeries have been performed at Apollo Hospitals.