Doctors perform kidney removal, thigh bone transplant simultaneously to save cancer patient

Chennai: In a six-hour-long surgical procedure, doctors in Chennai performed a thigh bone replacement and a left kidney removal procedure simultaneously, to revive a cancer patient.

The 54-year-old patient, a lady from Assam had been bedridden for three months, owing to a fracture and a subsequent injury on the left thigh bone.

The doctors who examined her at the Apollo Proton Cancer Center in Chennai diagnosed her with metastatic left renal cell carcinoma. This is a type of cancer where the cancer cells from the originally affected site travel to other parts of the body and cause tumors.

As planned, the doctors removed the knee joint tumor and replaced it with a mega-prosthesis, while also conducting a laparoscopic left kidney removal via three 5mm holes in the abdomen. The hospital said that the patient could walk with support, barely a day after undergoing both procedures.

Dr Vijay Kishore Reddy, Senior Consultant Orthopedic surgeon, Apollo hospitals, said that undue delay in cancer diagnosis and treatment owing to COVID-19 fear leads to worsening of cancer and its further spread. He added that early detection and multi-disciplinary treatment were key to battling cancer.

According to Ms Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group, both procedures being done in a single sitting reduces costs, results in earlier mobilization of the patient, less duration of hospitalization and post-operative complications.