After undergoing robotic surgery for colorectal cancer, doctor secures Gold Medal in PG

Chennai, Sep 24
It was an emotional moment at the Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, Chennai as Dr JD (name changed for privacy), a 28-years-old post-graduate medical student who had successfully undergone Robotic Colorectal surgery for low rectal cancer, went on to complete her medical post-graduation and won a Gold Medal.
According to a press release, the occasion also marked the completion of five years since the Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery began offering cutting-edge minimally invasive robotic surgical techniques and technology in the treatment of patients with colorectal diseases, especially colorectal cancer.
Dr Venkatesh Munikrishnan, Consultant Colorectal & Robotic Surgeon, The Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, Chennai said, “Dr JD was diagnosed with very low rectal cancer in 2017 when she was 24 years of age, just as she was about to join her medical post-graduation. It was a shock to her as she expected that even with treatment, her medical dreams would come to an abrupt halt".
“With Robotic Colorectal Surgery, we were able to perform the complex surgery to remove the cancer and reconstruct the colon to rectal / anal connection, thus avoiding a permanent colostomy. She had an uneventful recovery, went on to finish her course and excelled, getting the gold medal”, he added.
Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The development of the Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery as the only focused super-speciality centre for robotic colorectal surgery in India, is emblematic of our resolute commitment to clinical excellence. Over the last few years, there have been several advances in minimally invasive techniques such as Robotic Colorectal Surgery, which has led to significant change in the management of colorectal diseases, particularly for rectal cancer surgery."
Dr Venkatesh Munikrishnan also highlighted the impact of the COVID pandemic on patients coming for treatment at a later stage when the cancer is advanced.
It may be mentioned that being the busiest unit in the country with a large volume of cases, the Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery led by Dr Munikrishnan currently performs over 750 Colorectal procedures every year of which 130 are colorectal cancer surgeries with over 110 of these being robotic surgeries.