Regency Healthcare performs one of its kind robotic-assisted surgery to save a CRPF officer from a complex recurring hernia

Regency Healthcare, a leading multi-speciality hospital in Kanpur, performed a Robotic Abdominal Wall Reconstruction surgery to address the recurrence of a hernia in a 40-year-old woman CRPF officer. This highly intricate and unique robotic – assisted surgery was performed by Dr. Abhimanyu Kapoor, Head and Consultant Surgical Gastroenterologist by using Da Vinci technology. The patient had undergone an abdominal surgery elsewhere in the past to remove an ovarian tumour, which led to the development of incisional hernias. Following, she underwent two open surgeries to address the recurrence of hernia. Despite these surgical interventions, the patient developed abdominal hernia for the third time.

Regency healthcare is the first hospital in the state of Uttar Pradesh (except NCR) where the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology under Dr. Abhimanyu Kapoor is offering robotic abdominal wall reconstruction surgery to patients suffering from hernia. A lot of patients tend to develop incisional hernias following abdominal surgeries. Treatments for hernia typically involve open or laparoscopic surgery where the bulging tissues are pushed back to where it belongs and a surgical mesh is placed to address the hernia defect. However, these conventional modalities can result in the recurrence of hernia. However, with advanced technologies like da Vinci robotic–assisted surgery, doctors can perform hernia repair and prevent its recurrence.

Commenting on the complexity of the case, Dr. Abhimanyu Kapoor said, “The 40-year-old woman was in complete distress, having undergone back to back surgeries, confused and unaware of how to proceed. As a police officer serving in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the patient was also concerned about how long it would take for her to resume duty. As she had already undergone three surgeries in the past, our major priority was to pursue a minimally invasive surgical approach that would leave less scars on her body and result in faster recovery. So we recommended her to undergo a robotic–assisted abdominal wall reconstruction where we could perform retrorectus hernia repair with the help of da Vinci system.  This surgical procedure was highly favoured due to the ease of suturing, safety in dissection and prevention of any bowel injury. As the abdominal bulge she had was very big, we did posterior component separation with TAR (Transversus Abdominis Release). This procedure helped us repair the complex abdominal wall defect and place a large – sized mesh through small incisions.

Dr. Abhimanyu further elaborated on the challenges of proceeding with any other surgical procedure for similar cases, “Open surgeries require larger incisions which will cause significant trauma to the tissues, increasing the chances of recurrent hernia.  While in laparoscopy, it is generally noticed that the mesh placed in the abdomen may develop infections or cause adhesion formation and other complications. As a result of the same, the patient may experience abdominal pain or vomiting. In robotic-assisted surgery by using advanced technologies like da Vinci, the cutting-edge instrumentation and three-dimensional vision provided by the robotic system enables us to place a large-sized mesh through a small incision. With enhanced precision and control, the mesh is carefully placed in a plane where the mesh avoids contact with the intestines or any other visceral structures within the abdomen, lowering the risk of any infections. With minimal incision, there is less blood loss and the patient recovers faster”.

Commenting on the faster recovery, the 40-year-old patient said, “Despite undergoing multiple surgeries, hernia continued to recur. I was unsure as to what surgical treatment would help address these challenges. Dr. Abhimanyu Kapoor at Regency Healthcare guided me through the benefits of robotic–assisted surgery and how it can prevent the recurrence of hernia. Not only I was discharged within a day but was also able to get back to work immediately. I’m extremely grateful to Dr. Abhimanyu Kapoor who led the surgery and his entire surgical team who assisted him.