Lucknow: King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has performed its first robotic Whipple procedure for pancreatic cancer, introducing robotic pancreatic surgery at the govt-run institution.Officials said the procedure was performed by the department of surgical gastroenterology under Prof Abhijit Chandra in collaboration with the department of anaesthesiology headed by Prof Monica Kohli. Assistant professors Dr Mahesh and Dr Rohit were part of the surgical team.The patient, who had pancreatic cancer and multiple comorbidities, underwent the surgery successfully, officials said.Dr Rohit said the Whipple procedure is the standard operation for cancers of the pancreatic head and among the most complex gastrointestinal surgeries.“It involves removal of the pancreatic head along with parts of the small intestine, bile duct and gall bladder, followed by reconstruction of the digestive tract. The procedure is technically demanding because the pancreas lies close to major blood vessels and multiple reconnections are required during reconstruction,” he said.He said robotic surgery offers enhanced precision during dissection and reconstruction and can result in smaller incisions, reduced blood loss, less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stay and faster recovery.Prof Chandra said the surgery expands treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients seeking care at KGMU and enables access to robotic pancreatic surgery at a govt healthcare institution. KGMU VC Prof Soniya Nityanand said the procedure marked the introduction of robotic pancreatic cancer surgery.
