Bengaluru hospital performs combined robotic heart bypass and prostate cancer surgery in a single operative session

Although combining two major surgeries under a single anaesthesia is rare, in this case, it significantly helped avoid multiple major surgeries and hospital admissions, repeated exposure to anaesthesia, prolonged recovery and high risk

- KALIDAS NEWDELHI

A Bengaluru-based hospital has performed a combined robot-assisted minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery (MIDCAB) and robotic radical prostatectomy in a single operative session. This multidisciplinary intervention was carried out on a 56-year-old US-based NRI who was simultaneously diagnosed with coronary artery disease and prostate cancer two serious conditions that traditionally require separate major surgeries.

The patient was found to have a critical blockage in one of the major coronary arteries, which significantly reduced blood flow to the heart, though his overall heart pumping function remained normal.

At the same time, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which was causing obstructive urinary symptoms, including difficulty initiating urination, reduced urine flow, frequent urination, and a sensation of incomplete bladder emptying.