Kidney transplant technique advances robot-assisted surgery
By Julie Killian
Surgeons from Henry Ford Hospital and Medanta Hospital in India have carried out 50 successful kidney transplants between January and October 2013, using a new procedure that detects the cooling of the organ by ice during the operation which will help in robot-assisted organ transplantations.
Robotic surgery is a minimally invasive option, compared to more traditional methods of open surgery. According to Dr. Mani Menon, Chair of Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute, this kind of operation can reduce pain and discomfort, while presenting fewer complications for the patient.The method entails cooling the transplant site and the donor kidney with the use of sterile ice slush. Cooling allows surgeons to have more time to perform the surgery, for cooling preserves the organ’s function.
Previous research has found that organs left without blood for more than 30 minutes complicates its functionality, making the organ weaker than its original 100% at the beginning of surgery.
The 50 patients who underwent the surgery exhibited no usual complications that arise from the operation. This includes infections, blood and urine leaks. Additionally, none of the patients required post-operative dialysis. The hope is that these 50 patients act as a collective example that supports this innovation, and encourages its wider-spread use for safer organ transplantation.
