Chennai: When the whole world was celebrating Women’s Day, Vanitha (name changed) couldn’t have asked for a more precious gift from the man of her life. Yes, Ramesh (name changed), her husband, donated a kidney to his wife and both are happy now.
Another important thing to note here is, this was the first fully robotic kidney transplant in Tamilnadu.
Live related kidney transplantation is a quicker option for patients with kidney failure, whereas waiting time for cadaveric kidney transplantation may take years.
Most often, donors are ready to go home on the second post operative day and resume their routine activities within a week. The transplant from Ramesh to Vanitha was performed at Gem Hospital, Chennai.
Dr Swaminathan Sambandam, head of transplantation surgery, Gem Hospital said, “Robotic kidney transplantation has several distinct advantages over open kidney transplant particularly in obese patients. It is more precise; patient will have only a few centimeters small scar, less pain after surgery with a rapid recovery and quick return to normalcy”.
Meanwhile, MGM Healthcare, another Chennai-based hospital, has setup the Institute of Liver Transplant and HPB surgery.
This will allow patients from south India and across the world to have access to exclusive liver care facilities at the institute. It is helmed by renowned transplant and HPB surgeon Dr Thiagarajan S and Dr Ravi R Saveetha Medical College and Hospital on Thursday inaugurated the ‘Hemodialysis Unit’, a high end dialysis equipment on the occasion of World Kidney Day.
Rotary Club of Guindy, Rotary Club of Alor Star, Malaysia and Rotary Club of Glenhaven & Hills-Kellyville have donated $50,000 USD (aproximately Rs 35 lakh) as grants for the procurement of equipment.