Chennai, July 2021: Team of doctors from GEM Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai has successfully removed a choledochal cyst on the Hepatobiliary system of a 6 year old boy from West Bengal who had suffered from frequent abdominal pain for the last few months.
When the whole world is fighting the pandemic, this little boy had his own struggles against a life threatening cyst which may later lead to jaundice, pancreatitis or cancer if left untreated. He was admitted in GEM Hospital on 25th June’21 and discharged on 30th June’21 after a successful surgery.
Initially, the boy’s parents were worried to go for an open surgery and approached GEM Hospital Chennai to carry out the surgery with Laparoscopic technology. Minimally invasive Laparoscopic surgery on the hepatobiliary system is a challenging procedure which needs high degree of technical skill as the choledochal cyst is adjacent to major blood vessels.
Dr. P.Senthilnathan, Surgical Gastroenterologist & Director, GEM Hospital said “A normal liver produces around 800ml – 1litre of bile everyday and sends it to intestine. A cyst is formed in the bile duct of the patient which disrupts the routine and needs to be cleared. This type of complication is not because of lifestyle changes but are formed by birth. The symptoms may be seen in a born baby, an adult or even at an older age. It needs to be removed once diagnosis is confirmed”.
Expertises in laparoscopic suturing skills are needed to perform this complex reconstruction to facilitate drainage of bile from liver to intestine, after removal of the choledochal cyst. Laparoscopic method is more precise to carry out this surgery; patient will have only a few centimeters of small scar, less pain after surgery with a rapid recovery and quick return to normalcy”, he further added.
Speaking about the surgery Dr. S. Asokan, CEO and Director, GEM Hospital Chennai mentioned that, “These types of cysts needs correct surgery. In untreated or incompletely excised choledochal cysts or in Choledochal cysts where they are drained into intestine by internal diversions, the average cancer rate is more than 11%. So, timely and accurate surgery eliminates the risk. GEM hospital has been a center of excellence for doing such complex surgeries with laparoscopic and robotic techniques for decades”.
Dr. C. Palanivelu, Chairman, GEM Hospitals, who is a visionary and pioneer Laparoscopic and Robotic surgeon, lauded the team for their commendable effort and mentioned that GEM Hospital has always strived to raise the standards of medicine with advanced technology and will continue to do so.
