Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, Performs Unique Transplant Procedure to Save Life of an Ex Army Man

Mr. Rohtash, a retired Army man was living a normal life when a sudden diagnosis of advanced kidney failure threw everything upside down in December last year. For three months from then on, the 52-year-old travelled 240 km up and down thrice a week for crucial dialysis that would keep him alive.

However, when this became too much to bear, his 50-year-old wife, Rajo Devi, decided to donate her kidney to save her husband’s life. With a new kidney transplant division starting operations, doctors at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon took up the case in March and found Rajo Devi a compatible and healthy donor.

A team of doctors led by Dr Ajay Oswal and Dr. P.N Gupta, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon decided to perform a kidney transplant with a difference. Rather than the usual procedure where a Double J stent is implanted in between the new kidney and the urinary bladder, the doctors relied on their superior surgical skills to conduct this procedure without a stent. This makes this case a rare surgical success in Delhi NCR region.

Kidney transplant is an end-stage solution & best solution to kidney failure. It is performed when the kidney functions of a patient have failed completely. The procedure needs a lot of precision and expertise, given the life of the patient hinges on its success.

“When he was diagnosed with advanced kidney failure, Mr. Rohtash had no option but to undergo routine dialysis or artificial cleansing of the blood, thrice a week. He lived in a remote village of Haryana and had to travel around 120 km to reach to a dialysis centre, and the same distance back to return to his home. Naturally, doing this thrice a week worsened his general health. When he approached us, he had lost weight, looked tired and weary, and was eager for a permanent solution,” says Dr P.N Gupta, Senior Consultant, Nephrology & Transplant Physician

His wife Rajo Devi, 50, volunteered to donate one of her kidneys. She underwent thorough investigations and was declared as healthy donor. The patient then underwent a kidney transplant on March 16 2015

“Usually when a renal transplant is conducted, surgeons place a prophylactic stent between the new kidney and urinary bladder to support the organs. This creates two complications. First, it increases the risk of infection and secondly it needs a revision procedure to remove the stent, when its job is over. Since we had a high degree of expertise and were confident of the procedure, we decided to do away with the need of the stent to minimize risks. We thereby also saved a follow up procedure to remove the stent after some time,” adds Dr Ajay Oswal, Senior Consultant, Urologist & Transplant Surgeon.

 Immediately after the surgery, the patient started passing urine at the rate of 1 liter/hour and his S. Creatinine (marker of Kidney function) dropped to 1 mg/dl from 6 mg/dl on day 2 of Surgery. He also started sitting and taking few steps on day 2. By the third day, he started walking comfortably and started feeling normal.

To his relief, by the fourth day, his appetite returned and he started regaining his lost energy. He was discharged on the eighth day of surgery, with the turmoil of the past three months well behind him. His wife and saviour, Rajo Devi too did well and was discharged on the fifth day.

Kidney failure is a dangerous condition since we do not have medical wherewithal to reverse it. A person who suffers loss of kidney function needs to be very careful about maintaining his/her health. Another pertinent issue in India is paucity of donors. Lack of awareness and absence of official institutions often make lives of needy patients very difficult.