PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study: 'Icy' technique improves robotic kidney transplants

2014-01-22
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Dwight Angell
dwight.angell@hfhs.org
313-850-3471
Henry Ford Health System
Study: 'Icy' technique improves robotic kidney transplants DETROIT – A collaboration of surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital and Medanta Hospital in India successfully transplanted kidneys into 50 recipients using an innovative robot-assisted procedure in which the organ is cooled with sterile ice during the operation.

The research project – published online ahead of print in European Urology, the journal of the European Association of Urology – advances minimally invasive robotic surgery as a safe alternative to traditional open surgery.

"Minimally invasive surgery reduces post-operative pain and minimizes complications in comparison to conventional surgery," says Mani Menon, M.D., chair of Henry Ford's Vattikuti Urology Institute and co-author of the study.

"The benefits of minimally invasive surgery in removing donor kidneys has been well established in earlier studies, but the use of robot-assisted surgery in transplanting those kidneys is comparatively a frontier," Dr. Menon adds.

The Henry Ford researchers and their counterparts in Gurgaon, India, reasoned that since minimally invasive robotic surgery has proven to be a great benefit to healthy kidney donors, it might also be a boon to the ill and weakened transplant recipients who are at greater risk of complications. But they noted British research from 1971 that showed that kidney function was partially impaired in recipients if blood flow was interrupted for longer than 30 minutes during transplant.

So they decided to chill both the donor kidney and the transplant site with sterile ice slush in hopes of increasing the amount of time in which they could safely learn and perfect the robot-assisted surgery.

"To our knowledge, ours is the first study to use renal cooling during robotic kidney transplant," Dr. Menon says. "It had already proved useful during minimally invasive prostate surgeries."

After three years of planning and simulated surgeries at Henry Ford, 50 consecutive transplant patients who had volunteered for the minimally invasive procedure underwent robotic kidney transplant at Medanta Hospital between January and October 2013.

In all, Medanta Hospital has performed 54 operations and International Kidney and Renal Diseases at Ahmedabad, India, has done 56 operations, for a total of 110 transplants in one year. The surgeons in charge of the two programs are Dr. Rajesh Ahlawat and Dr. Pranjal Modi.

In each case, surgeons filled the kidney cavity with ice slush through a specially designed port in the patient's abdomen before transplanting the donor kidney, which was also chilled with ice slurry held in place by gauze wrapping.

Blood vessels were attached to the transplanted kidney using suturing techniques refined in other types of minimally invasive procedures. Immediately after transplant, all of the grafted kidneys functioned normally and patient levels of creatinine – used to measure kidney function – were well within normal range.

None of the patients developed blood or urine leaks, infections or other complications from their surgical wounds. None required dialysis after surgery.

When given follow-up exams six months after surgery, nearly all of the first 25 patients who underwent the procedure developed no complications, although two required exploratory surgery and one died of acute congestive heart failure.

Dr. Menon attributed the success of the study in part to "the seamless collaboration" between surgeons experienced in conventional "open surgery" kidney transplants and surgeons skilled in using robotic techniques.

By the time they began the study, the teams from Henry Ford and Medanta hospitals had performed more than 10,000 robotic procedures and 2,500 conventional kidney transplants.

"The individual surgeons involved had built an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect over 30 years of collaborative work," Dr. Menon says. "While this benefit can't be precisely measured, it clearly contributed to the success of this endeavor."

The researchers noted that further studies will be needed before robotic kidney transplant is widely accepted as a "reasonable" alternative to conventional transplantation. INFORMATION:

Funding: Vattikuti Foundation

For a copy of the study, please email Dwight.angell@hfhs.org

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

More diseases from air pollution uncovered by improved data material

2014-01-22
More diseases from air pollution uncovered by improved data material At rest, we breathe approx. 12-15 times per minute, and for each inhalation we change approx. one litre of air. Depending on the activity level, this makes up a daily quantity in the order of twenty cubic metres ...

Understanding the functioning of a new type of solar cell

2014-01-21
Understanding the functioning of a new type of solar cell Photovoltaic energy conversion offers one of the best means for the future of renewable energy in the world. The efficiency of solar cells depends heavily upon the light-absorbing materials ...

DNA barcodes change our view on how nature is structured

2014-01-21
DNA barcodes change our view on how nature is structured How you seek is what you find To understand how feeding interactions are structured, researchers from Finland and Canada chose to focus on one of the simplest food webs on Earth: the moths and butterflies ...

Quality control of mitochondria as a defense against disease

2014-01-21
Quality control of mitochondria as a defense against disease HEIDELBERG, 20 January 2014 – Scientists from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital in Canada have discovered that two genes linked to hereditary Parkinson's disease are ...

Ultra-thin tool heating for injection molding

2014-01-21
Ultra-thin tool heating for injection molding If you have ever tried to make waffles then you are bound to be familiar with the following problem: You only get good waffles if the iron is heated to the correct temperature. The same principle ...

Hydrocephalus: Sensors monitor cerebral pressure

2014-01-21
Hydrocephalus: Sensors monitor cerebral pressure Urinary incontinence, a shuffling gait, and deteriorating reasoning skills are all indicators pointing to a Parkinsonian or Alzheimer type disease. An equally plausible explanation is hydrocephalus, ...

Micropredators dictate occurrence of deadly amphibian disease

2014-01-21
Micropredators dictate occurrence of deadly amphibian disease A new study raises hope to successfully fight the chytrid amphibian pathogen This news release is available in German. Leipzig: An international team of researchers has made ...

Bio-inspired robotic device could aid ankle-foot rehabilitation, CMU researcher says

2014-01-21
Bio-inspired robotic device could aid ankle-foot rehabilitation, CMU researcher says Unlike rigid exoskeletons, soft wearable robot enables natural motions PITTSBURGH—A soft, wearable device that mimics the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower leg could ...

Training your brain using neurofeedback

2014-01-21
Training your brain using neurofeedback A new brain-imaging technique for a true brain workout A new brain-imaging technique enables people to 'watch' their own brain activity in real time and to control or adjust function in pre-determined brain regions. The study from ...

New study finds mistimed sleep disrupts rhythms of genes in humans

2014-01-21
New study finds mistimed sleep disrupts rhythms of genes in humans A new study from the University of Surrey, published today in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), found that the daily rhythms of our genes are disrupted when sleep times shift. Researchers ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists develop an efficient method of producing proteins from E. coli

AAAS announces addition of Cancer Communications to Science Partner Journal Program

Systematic review reveals psilocybin reduces obsessive-compulsive behaviors across clinical and preclinical evidence

Emerging roles of neuromodulation in the management of treatment-resistant OCD

All prey are not the same: marine predators face uneven nutritional payoffs

What drives sleep problems in long-term care facilities?

New antibiotic for drug-resistant bacteria found hiding in plain sight

New mapping identifies urgent opportunities to strengthen Singapore’s children’s mental health ecosystem

New research reveals significant prevalence of valvular heart disease among older Americans

Outdoor air pollution linked to higher incidence of breast cancer

Thiophene-doped fully conjugated covalent organic frameworks for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

Earth’s ‘boring billion years’ created the conditions for complex life

Health data for 57 million people in England show changing patterns of heart diseases before, during and after the pandemic

Cycling ‘near misses’ in London worst at rush hour and on roads without dedicated infrastructure

Roots in the dark: Russian scientists uncover hidden carbon dioxide uptake in plant roots

Biochar and hydrochar show contrasting climate effects in boreal grasslands

Turning trash into treasure: Scientists transform waste plastics into high-value carbon materials

Boys don’t cry? How picture books can teach gendered ideas about pain

In global collaboration, IU scientists unlock secrets to the building blocks of the universe

Young adults fear mass shootings but don’t necessarily support gun control

How unlocking ‘sticky’ chemistry may lead to better, cleaner fuels

Cutting balloon treatment prior to stent placement comparable to intravascular lithotripsy for patients with calcified coronary artery disease

Novel sirolimus-eluting balloon appears noninferior to conventional therapies for treatment of in-stent restenosis

Nearly half of US workers don’t know work experience could count toward a degree, according to University of Phoenix survey

Super-high-pressure non-compliant balloons for treatment of calcified coronary lesions noninferior to intravascular lithotripsy

Saudi Native Dr. Hani K. Najm named next vice president of the American College of Cardiology

Getting steps in one long walk a day cuts risk of death and CVD better than multiple short walks

The way you walk: 10–15 minute bouts of walking better for your cardiovascular health than shorter strolls

Beyond electronics: harnessing light for faster computing

Researchers find possible cause for increasing polarization

[Press-News.org] Study: 'Icy' technique improves robotic kidney transplants