Saving a patient from losing a kidney with a robotic surgery

The patient discovered that she had a kidney tumor and that the need to remove the tumor put her at risk of permanently losing one of her kidneys, which may expose her to kidney failure in the future and the inability to enjoy her life anymore. The patient began looking for an alternative treatment without entirely removing her kidney. Finally, she found the robotic surgery.

The most recent technology in use today is robotic surgery. This technique is characterized by performing surgery with the highest levels of accuracy. This limits the removal of only the damaged area of the kidney and permits the preservation of healthy kidney cells. This precision results from:

1- The robotic arms allow the movement of surgical tools at many angles in a professional manner.

2- A 3D view of the surgical area.

3- The robot has four arms, allowing for the simultaneous use of many surgical instruments.

4- The ability to magnify and enlarge the vision to enhance procedure stages' clarity and enables the most precise usage of surgical instruments.

All these advantages led to a high success rate for the robotic surgery, in addition to protecting the patient from the pain and complications of the traditional surgical wound because the robotic surgery depends on several small incisions in the abdominal area instead of a large wound.

This patient hoped to be able to perform this technique, which would enable her to preserve healthy parts of the kidney and protect her from the disadvantages of the traditional surgery. But how can she undergo that surgery in Egypt?

Finally, she learned that Prof. Mahmoud AbdElHakim, Professor of Urology at Cairo University, performs robotic urology surgeries. So she went to consult him, and indeed, she had her surgery on June 12, 2022, which lasted for 3 hours.

This minimally invasive robotic surgical technique has been performed routinely since 1992. It has brought several benefits to patients, such as reduced blood loss and the need for blood transfusion, less pain, a shorter hospitalization period, maintaining the aesthetic shape of the abdomen, and faster recovery compared to traditional surgery. Traditional surgery requires a large incision in the abdomen, while the minimally invasive surgical robot has only 3-5 tiny abdominal incisions.

• Pain control: The level of pain resulting from robotic resection of kidney tumors is tolerable; Therefore, the patient can only take an oral analgesic for one to two days only to avoid constipation.

• Shower: The patient can take a shower while keeping the incision sites dry and avoid applying heavy creams or lotions. For the first two weeks, it's not advised to use a hot tub as this can raise the risk of infection.

• Activity: Prof. Mahmoud AbdElHakim's advice is to walk 6 times a day on a flat surface during the first two weeks after surgery because prolonged sitting can increase the risk of pneumonia and deep vein thrombosis. It is also permissible to climb stairs, but without lifting heavy objects or exerting effort for up to 4 weeks after surgery. The patient can return to full activity within a few weeks after the surgery.

• Diet: The patient may resume a regular diet once he begins to pass flatus and his appetite improves

• Follow-up appointment: A post-surgical appointment is set at the urology clinic one month later. Then at 12 and 24 months later with a CT scan of the kidney.