Robotic CRS offers patients with new standard of care

CHENNAI: India’s first Robotic Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS) with Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) for a peritoneal surface cancer was performed at a private hospital recently. The minimally invasive, robotic-assisted approach marks a paradigm shift in treating Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP), an aggressive appendix cancer, offering patients with a new standard of care, enabling faster recovery and improved quality of life.

A female patient, aged 51, was diagnosed with bilateral ovarian masses, and had extensive surgical intervention, including the removal of the uterus, ovaries, appendix, and part of the omentum.

Due to the peculiar tendency of the appendix cancer to spread to the lining of the patient’s abdomen, doctors performed minimally invasive Robotic Cytoreductive Surgery with right hemicolectomy and complete mesocolic excision and peritonectomy and total omentectomy, along with Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy eliminating any possible microscopic residual tumours inside the abdomen.

The Robotic CRS approach offers significant advantages as it is minimally invasive; the clinicians made use of tiny 8 mm incisions for the robotic instruments, minimizing pain, blood loss, scarring and discomfort. Additionally, a single 5cm incision was used for tumour removal and delivery of HIPEC. This approach translated to a faster recovery and a quicker return to normal life for the patient.

The team of experts at Apollo Cancer Centres, led by Dr Ajit Pai, Senior Consultant in Surgical Oncology and Robotic Surgery at Apollo Cancer Centres.