Sai Uro Clinic in Chennai, a leading center for advanced urology, uro-oncology, and robotic surgery, successfully removed a tumor from the right kidney of a 71-year-old male. The surgery was crucial to prevent dialysis dependency, as both open technique and laparoscopic surgery were too risky due to the patient's age, chronic health conditions, and the tumor's location in the right kidney. Robotic surgery was the only safest option for the patient, as major surgical stress like hypotension or torrential bleeding could make the kidney lose its remaining function and result in dialysis dependency for the rest of his life.
The surgical team, led by Dr. Vasantharaja Ramasamy, Managing Director, Sai Uro Clinic, and Senior Consultant in Uro-oncology, performed a 'partial nephrectomy', a surgery to remove a part of a kidney. They chose an advanced robotic system for the surgery, known as 'nephron-sparing surgery', which prevents blood from reaching the tumor region while allowing it to flow to the functioning nephrons, kidney's filtering units.
The surgery was successful, with minimal blood loss and no need for intensive care monitoring or dialysis support after the surgery. The kidney function remained unaffected, and the patient was discharged within 48 hours from the hospital. The surgical team used an innovative approach, creating a 3D model of the blood supply of the affected kidney and using the 'firefly technique' to make the vascular structure visible in fluorescent imaging in real time. This new technique in the robotic system helped maintain the blood supply to the rest of the functioning nephrons while blocking the supply to the tumor region. The patient had minimal blood loss and was discharged within 48 hours from the hospital.
