Patients with rare medical condition treated by robotic surgery

Ahmedabad, April 21 (IANS) Robotic surgery performed at a hospital here has successfully relieved a 37-year-old patient of acute abdominal pain caused by a rare medical condition, the surgeon who performed the procedure has said.

The medical condition, found in one among 100,000 humans, is referred to as 'Celiac Artery Compression Syndrome' and is characterised by abdominal pain from compression of the celiac artery.

Surgery is currently the only treatment option and involves releasing the ligament that causes the compression.

However, reaching the celiac artery through conventional surgery is not easy because it is located deep under the crus of the diaphragm.

"Using a four-armed surgical robot, I was able to reach the root of the celiac artery where human fingers could not," gastro intestinal surgeon Apurva Vyas of Sterling Hospitals in Ahmedabad said in a statement on Friday.

"The three-dimensional high definition view magnified the artery multi-fold to help me achieve precision that prevented collateral damage to healthy tissue, arteries and nerves," Vyas, who used the da Vinci surgical robot for the procedure, said.

"I was happy to see the patient recover quickly. He was back home on the third day post surgery," Vyas added.

Celiac artery compression can be loosely compared to a heart attack-like situation of the digestive system.

The patient suffers severe pain as soon as he starts eating and is hardly able to eat enough for the body's needs.

This case was presented at US-based non-profit Vattikuti Foundation's bi-annual Robotic Surgeons Council meet in Chennai earlier this month.

Three follow-up visits have shown that the patients is doing well and is back to his regular diet intake without any recurrence of symptoms, Vyas said.

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