Robotic surgery to treat colon cancer for 89-year-old woman

Binh Dan Hospital said: Mr. Q. is the oldest patient among nearly 3,000 robotic surgeries performed at Binh Dan Hospital since it began implementing robotic surgery for adults in late 2016.

Previously, due to signs of black stools and dull pain in the right abdomen, Mr. Q. was taken by his family to a medical facility in Ho Chi Minh City for examination.

Here, the patient's abdominal CT scan showed a tumor in the right colon and many surrounding lymph nodes. The biopsy results after endoscopy confirmed that this was a cancerous tumor. The disease caused the old woman to have poor appetite, anemia, and her body to become increasingly emaciated and lose weight.

In addition, the patient also had a heart rhythm disorder, making surgery difficult for her. Mrs. Q. was discharged home and had to be hospitalized every 2 weeks for a blood transfusion.

When he learned that robotic surgery could be used to treat colon cancer with minimal invasion, less pain and quicker recovery, Mr. Q. decided to go to Binh Dan Hospital for surgery.

Doctor CKII Nguyen Phu Huu, Deputy Head of the Department of Surgery - Digestive, in charge of surgery for Mr. Q, said: One of the concerns of Mr. Q's relatives is that his health is very weak after a period of fighting a malignant tumor.

When he was first admitted to Binh Dan Hospital, the patient weighed only 34kg and was so weak that he could not walk on his own. His family feared he would not be able to endure the major surgery.

However, as a retiree, after careful consideration, Mr. Q. still decided to have surgery in the hope of having a better quality of life, being able to take care of himself and not being a burden to his children.

“Surgery for an 89-year-old patient with stage 3 cancer and severe malnutrition is a big challenge. We had a multidisciplinary consultation and prepared very carefully to be able to perform the surgery, responding to Mr. Q's resilience and trust in us" - Dr. Huu shared.

The patient held the doctor's hand tightly to thank him for his dedicated surgery to save his life.

First of all, the surgeons coordinated with the nutritionist to strengthen the old lady’s physical condition for 10 days before the surgery. Finally, the most anticipated thing happened, the 120-minute surgery of Mrs. Q. was a great success. The tumor was completely removed, the lymph nodes were quickly removed and most importantly, the healthy tissue in the patient’s abdomen was preserved.

After surgery, Mr. Q. was taken care of in the Intensive Care Room of the Department of Surgery and Gastroenterology and started eating again on the third postoperative day.

Patients continue to receive nutritional care and physical therapy to help them move early after surgery, increase lung ventilation, avoid vascular and pulmonary embolism, prevent the risk of pneumonia and prevent anastomotic leakage.

The patient's abdominal ultrasound on the 7th postoperative day showed a clean abdomen with no fluid. He was discharged on the 10th postoperative day.

Sharing with the doctor before being discharged from the hospital, he said: “When I first came out of the surgery, I felt tired, but it gradually decreased, and now I feel healthy. Thank you, doctor, for giving me life again.”

In recent years, thanks to the experience of interdisciplinary coordination and the application of surgical robotic systems, Binh Dan Hospital has successfully treated gastrointestinal diseases, especially gastrointestinal cancers. Many elderly patients with weakened physical strength can still successfully undergo cancer surgery.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/robot-surgery-treatment-for-89-year-old-surgery-post836894.html