Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals performed a robot-assisted surgery for rare shwannoma of the neck (parapharyngeal space tumor), making it the first hospital in India to perform a Robot Assisted ENT surgery. 41 year old, Ms. Babli Bhati, was presented at Indraprastha Apollo on 4th June with a progressive swelling of the neck for the past two months.
Post admission, a contrast MRI was done were it was discovered that Ms. Bhati has shwanomma (tumour) in the neck measuring 3.8 cms. She was immediately advised surgery. A team of surgeons comprising Dr Suresh Naruka, Consultant, ENT surgery, Dr Nishant Rana Consultant, ENT surgery lead by Dr Kalpana Nagpal, Senior Consultant, ENT Surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, conducted a robot assisted surgery for the removal of the tumor.
Dr Kalpana Nagpal, who spearheaded this procedure, said,”Surgery of a neck shwannoma is a challenging procedure, as these tumours arise between delicate areas of large blood vessels and critical cranial nerves in the neck and any kind of dissection if not done with accuracy can result in lifelong morbidity to the patients. Additionally, 14% of such tumours if not removed at an early stage can be malignant, causing head and neck cancers. Ms. Bhati’s tumour in the neck was progressive in nature, and because of its large size it was putting pressure on the cranial nerves present in the neck obstructing her breathing process, had it been ignored for a longer time, there were chances of the tumour turning cancerous.”
“In this kind of a robotic surgery we get a magnified 3D image of the surgical site on a console that displays these images. It helped in preservation of vital structures in the neck because of precise dissection as the surgical planes are seen with ten-fold magnification. This technique helped us ensure preservation of vital structures surrounding the surgical area. The procedure was an hour-long, and the patient experienced minimal blood loss. With no breathing problems or any kind of pain, Ms. Bhati was discharged within 24 hours of the surgery”, she further added.
Describing her experience through the surgery, Ms Bhati said, “Initially we were scared as we were not aware of how big the surgery would be. After the procedure was done with so much ease and precision I felt relieved. Unlike any other surgery, I didn’t feel any pain and was discharged within 24 hours. I am grateful to Dr Nagpal and her team at Indraprastha Apollo who gave me such a seamless experience of a surgery.”
