India (Commonwealth Union)_ A 71-year-old man with bladder cancer had robotic-assisted surgery at Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai. The patient visited the hospital with symptoms of increasing frequency, urgency, and occasional hematuria (blood in the urine) and also had a history of diabetes mellitus. The PET/CT scan of the patient’s entire body revealed a tumor in the urinary bladder affecting the bilateral VU junction and causing hydroureteronephrosis (swelling of the ureters). As a result, transurethral excision of the tumor (bladder tumor removal) was performed on the patient for biopsy sample extraction. The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer. The physicians revealed that the patient completed four cycles of chemotherapy and that he is stable and doing well.
According to Dr. Amolkumar Patil, Senior Consultant Urology, Uro Oncology, Kidney Transplant, and Robotic Surgery at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, the operation was planned following a discussion with the tumor board to remove the urinary bladder and prostate gland using robotic-assisted surgery. Hence, the patient’s prostate gland and urinary bladder were removed. He added: “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 advantages of robotically-assisted surgery are that it is minimally invasive & enables high surgical accuracy. Compared to conventional surgery, blood loss is less therefore chances of infection are significantly reduced and patients recover faster. There is a positive impact on resources for both patients and healthcare facilities.”
Dr. Tejinder Singh, Consultant, Medical Oncology, was consulted for adjuvant chemotherapy, which is frequently used after basic therapies, like surgery, to reduce the likelihood of the disease returning. Even if the surgery was effective in eliminating all visible cancer, there may still be tiny cancer cells that are invisible with current techniques. After four cycles of chemo, the patient was well and stable.
According to Santosh Marathe, regional chief executive officer of the Western Region for Apollo Hospitals, robotic surgery enables us to treat senior patients more effectively, as rapid recoveries are essential for older patients and these curative treatment approaches enhance their quality of life. Additionally, more than 9200 robotically-assisted procedures have been done at Apollo Hospitals thus far, which is one of Apollo’s several firsts achieved throughout the decades.
