Medanta Press Release

India’s first robotic liver donor surgery at Medanta

New era in liver transplantation: Medanta conducts India’s first robotic donor liver surgery

The globally acclaimed Liver Transplant Team at Medanta achieved a rare breakthrough by conducting India’s first and the world’s third robotic liver donor surgery 3 weeks ago.
Thirty-six old Rahmatullah, who underwent the path-breaking surgery to donate 20% of his liver to save his nephew, was discharged 5 days after the operation. Five year old Ziad, who became the first to be cured of his liver failure with a robotically removed liver, is also discharged home and well.

Dr. A.S. Soin, Chief Liver Transplant Surgeon and Chairman, Medanta Liver Institute, led a team of surgeons including Drs. R Mohanka, R Kakodkar and A Rastogi that conducted operation. Dr Soin said “this operation marks the beginning of a new era in liver surgery, which will result in enhanced safety, precision and minimum discomfort to the patient.. In this procedure, the surgeon controls all the steps at the console, making the same movements as he does in conventional surgery. These movements are transmitted to the 4 robotic arms and instruments which actually carry out the surgical steps on the patient. The advantages are that the robotic instruments have a range of movement that human wrists and fingers can never have. The view is 3-dimensional. These two attributes enable us to visualize details in small nooks and corners and operate on areas which are not easy to access in open surgery. In addition, for prolonged operations, surgical fatigue is eliminated. The robotic arms work through small 5-10 mm holes, and at the end, the operative scars are much less painful and considerably smaller. This is godsend for liver donors who are healthy people undergoing major surgery to save their loved ones. They deserve all the extra safety and comfort this operation gives”, added Soin.

Congratulating the liver team on their achievement, Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman of Medanta-The Medicity, said “we are delighted to add liver surgery to the rapidly expanding uses of the surgical robot. We have already performed hundreds of heart, urology and gynaecology operations using this technology. We have the country’s first dedicated institute of robotic surgery where we are constantly looking to innovate for the benefit of our patients.”

Explaining the predicament of little Ziad’s parents’, Dr Neelam Mohan, Senior Liver Physician and Director of the Pediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplant facility said “Ziad was suffering from a rare metabolic disorder called tyrosenemia which led to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, which is rare in children . An urgent liver transplant was the only way to save his life. His parents, already upset with their son’s terminal disease, were totally devastated when they realized that neither of them matched their son for liver donation. Ziad’s Uncle however, came to the rescue. Although he had initial reservations, he was happy to donate 20% of his liver once we told him of the minimal scar approach that the surgical team was going to use for his operation. I feel this technique will be a big boon to allay the fears and anxiety prospective liver donors for children,” she added.

Commenting on the scope of this technique in the future, Dr Soin said “ initially, we will be able to use this technique in around 30% of the liver donors as well as patients needing liver surgery for other reasons. In time, it will become applicable to more and more patients. Scientific progress always comes in small steps and not giant leaps”, observed Soin.