Jaipur, 18 May 2022: In what might be termed as a medically challenging rare surgery, performed for the first time in North India, Dr. Sandeep Gupta, Additional Director, Urology & Kidney Transplant, Fortis Escorts Hospital Jaipur along with his team of doctors successfully performed laparoscopic pyeloplasty on a 37-day-old infant. The infant was suffering from a disease called PUJ Obstruction (A condition in which the tube which carries urine from kidney to bladder is not formed properly). Pyeloplasty is the name of this surgery wherein the narrow part of the tube is removed and a normal part of the tube is joined again to ensure free flow of urine.

It was during the third trimester of the pregnancy, doctors through an ultrasound diagnosed deformities in one of the kidneys, and if not treated on time, would have led to irrevocable damage to the kidney. In other children with similar condition, it may cause recurrent abdominal pain, difficulty in feeding, urine infection, and in severe cases, even difficulty in breathing. To perform this surgery, the doctors had to make special arrangements in the operation theatre by calibrating the equipments. It was crucial to calibrate the equipments, as the OT instruments are designed for operating older children and adults. Therefore, the CO2 insufflator, anesthetic ventilator, laparoscopic instruments, as well as the OT temperature were selected and adjusted according to the age of the infant.

Elaborating on the rare surgery, Dr Gupta said, “In such complex cases where an infant is being operated  the movement of surgical equipments  requires high precision, also administration of  anesthesia in infants is also an equally  critical task. Conventionally, such complex surgeries are done by making large incisions on the infants tummy, which is very painful and leads to significant large scars on the abdomen. Even though conducting a laparoscopic surgery was not an easy task, and posed a lot of challenges, it still offered all the benefits of minimally invasive surgery. The surgery was done by making three small punctures of 5 mm each in the infant’s abdomen rather than 70 -80 mm open incisions as in conservative surgeries”

Dr Gupta further added, “We decided to go for a stent-less pyeloplasty. For post-operative healing, we inserted a double-J stent inside the kidney which in most of the cases is removed after a month depending on recovery. For such a young infant this would have meant another hospital admission and anesthesia administration. The surgery was completed in two hours uneventfully with the help of expert anesthetics at the hospital and the baby was discharged post three days of the surgery. Such kind of congenital problems these days are seen quite frequently among young infants. With the advancement in medical science, we are able to diagnose such life-threatening conditions during routine pregnancy ultrasounds. The post-operative investigations after two months of surgery has shown considerable improvement in kidney function, reduced swelling. We are happy that baby is gradually recoveringg.”

About Fortis Healthcare Limited

Fortis Healthcare Limited – an IHH Healthcare Berhad Company – is a leading integrated healthcare services provider in India. It is one of the largest healthcare organizations in the country with 27 healthcare facilities (including projects under development), 4100 operational beds and over 419 diagnostics centres (including JVs). Fortis is present in India, United Arab Emirates (UAE) & Sri Lanka. The Company is listed on the BSE Ltd and National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India. It draws strength from its partnership with global major and parent company, IHH, to build upon its culture of world-class patient care and superlative clinical excellence. Fortis employs 23,000 people (including SRL) who share its vision of becoming the world’s most trusted healthcare network. Fortis offers a full spectrum of integrated healthcare services ranging from clinics to quaternary care facilities and a wide range of ancillary services.