PGIMER Chandigarh introduces robot-assisted kidney transplantation
PGIMER’s urology department has been performing robotic surgery since 2015 and has now become the first to perform robot-assisted kidney transplants at a public hospital
The department of urology, PGIMER, has introduced robot-assisted kidney transplantation (RAKT) as a minimally invasive approach for kidney transplant recipients.
On April 10, the department performed two transplants and both patients are doing well. The department has been performing robotic surgery since 2015 and has now become the first to perform robot-assisted kidney transplants at a public hospital.
Both patients are male and suffering from renal failure. Davinderjit Singh, 30, a resident of Patiala, was suffering from renal failure since 2021. His sister donated the kidney. The other patient, 15-year-old Raghav Mehta of Ludhiana, received the kidney from his father.
Traditionally, kidney transplantation is carried out through open surgery by making large incisions. However, larger wounds are associated with more wound-related morbidity in terms of more pain, surgical site infection (SSI), delayed mobilisation, significant time to return to daily activities, longer convalescence and post-operative recovery.
Department head Dr Uttam K Mete said, “To minimise wound-related morbidity, renal transplantation using a small incision can be performed using minimally invasive surgical procedures. The maximum benefit of RAKT goes to obese patients who would otherwise not be able to have a kidney transplant due to an unacceptable risk of morbidity.”
Robotic renal transplant surgeon Dr Rajesh Ahlawat and his associate Dr Sudeep Bodduluri from Medanta, the Medicity Hospital, Gurgaon, helped the department start robotic renal transplantation.
