CHENNAI: Doctors at Apollo Hospital successfully performed a fully robotic bariatric surgery on a 50-year-old woman from Bangladesh recently.The woman was a high-risk obese patient, weighing 124 kg with multiple comorbidities.
She has undergone brain tumour surgery and is undergoing treatment for epilepsy. The patient is also on thyroid medications after total thyroidectomy and has undergone abdominal surgeries for gallstone and fibroid uterus, said Dr Raj Palaniappan, Director and Lead Bariatric Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals.
The doctor performed a complex bariatric surgery, one anastomotic gastric bypass, through three robotic ports. The patient is a diabetic and was mostly wheelchair bound after weight gain, Dr Raj said. Since existing hybrid robotic surgeries will be as difficult as a laparoscopy and may not prove beneficial, so entire consumable, including recently launched sureform staplers, a new stapler, for a fully robotic approach was procured.
These staplers have multi-directional movements and 90-degree articulation. This reduces the difficulty in stapling the stomach and intestines. Seven robotic staplers were used to complete the entire procedure, Dr Raj added. The procedure is the first robotic bariatric surgery in the world to be performed in just three ports, claimed Dr Raj.
The surgery lasted for around three hours. The fully robotic surgery caused the patient less trauma and blood loss. The patient started on oral fluids within 12 hours after surgery, mobilised with support within 48 hours and discharged with good health on the fourth day post surgery.