Landmark Kidney Transplant Surgery at Aster Medcity

Kochi: With a landmark kidney transplant surgery, Aster Medcity joins only two institutions in the world where a new surgical method of transplanting a kidney has been carried out. The totally robotic procedure for kidney transplantation with transvaginal insertion was carried out in the first week of July on a 30-year-old woman suffering from end-stage kidney disease. The transplant team was led by Dr. Kishore T A, Consultant, Centre of Excellence in Nephrology and Urology at Aster Medcity who specializes in Robotic Urology surgery. This method of transplanting a kidney has earlier only been performed at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre, Gujarat and at the Urology and Renal Transplantation Department, University Hospital of Rangueil, Toulouse, France.

The life-saving procedure of kidney transplantation has come a long way since Alex Carrel received the Nobel Prize in 1912 for achieving perfection in the technique of vascular anastomosis (connecting blood vessels) and performing transplantation of the kidney in 1912. It first received a boost in the 1980s and 1990s with new techniques, new medications and new patient information making it an effective and routine procedure. The 21st century has seen major developments in less invasive techniques like keyhole laparoscopic surgery and robotic-assisted surgery that do not require open surgery with large incisions and offer faster recovery and other benefits to the recipient as well as the donor.

Explaining the procedure, Dr. Kishore T A, Consultant, CoE in Nephrology and Urology at Aster Medcity said, ‘Kidney transplant is the treatment of choice in patients with chronic renal failure or end-stage renal disease. In an open kidney transplant, the donated kidney is put into place through a large incision made in the lower abdomen. In laparoscopic transplant surgery, a series of small incisions are made in the abdomen to achieve the same objective. In this case, a procedure was used that has till date only been used at two hospitals globally. In this case, we decided to use the transvaginal route to insert the kidney. While this has been used for nephrectomy, i.e. kidney removal, transplantation of the donor's kidney through the transvaginal route and using robotic-assisted surgery has only been done in a hospital in Gujarat and one in France to date.’

Reports suggest that only 19 cases of a kidney transplant have been performed in Gujarat and only one in France to date, making the transvaginal insertion of kidney and robotic kidney transplantation at Aster Medcity an important milestone in kidney transplant surgery.

Dr. Kishore T An elaborated, ‘The transvaginal route and robotic-assisted surgery allows us to use very small incisions and reduced recovery time. The robotic technology allows high definition visualization and fine movements and increased the precision with the robotic instruments. This leads to less traumatic surgery decreasing the risk of organ injuries and bacterial contamination with less abdominal discomfort and shorter post-operative recovery period. The patient had an uneventful recovery and has now been discharged. ’

Dr. Harish Pillai, CEO, Aster Medcity said, ‘Aster Medcity is already one of the most advanced healthcare destinations in India and we are proud of this milestone in our journey to becoming one of the most advanced healthcare destinations globally. This transvaginal robotic kidney transplant is testament to the achievements of the Aster CoE in Multi-Organ Transplant Centre and its use of cutting-edge technology for the benefit of the patients.’