59 Year Old Male from Myanmar Undergoes Successful Robotic Surgical Treatment of Esophageal Diverticulum at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi

• Patient presented with a large pouch (diverticulum) arising from the esophagus located inside the chest cavity
• He underwent robot assisted minimally invasive surgery to remove the diverticulum

In a rare case of esophageal diverticulum, a 59 year old man from Yangon, Myanmar underwent a successful robot assisted minimally invasive surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (apollohospitaldelhi).The man had been complaining of frequent episodes of vomiting/regurgitation of food after almost every meal since last 4 years.  He had visited multiple doctors in his native country but inability to come to an accurate diagnosis had resulted in him being dependent on medications.

He was finally diagnosed to have an esophageal diverticulum in 2021, however could travel to India only in August, 2022, once all travel restrictions due to COVID were lifted. At Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (apollohospitaldelhi),  under the supervision of Dr Deepak Govil, Senior Consultant and head, Surgical Gastroenterology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi and Dr Vivek Tandon, Senior Consultant, Gastroenterology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi he was admitted in the hospital. After an  endoscopy and CT scan, the presence of an esophageal diverticulum (pouch) was confirmed and the patient was advised to undergo surgical procedure to remove the pouch.

Speaking about this procedure, Dr Deepak Govil, Senior Consultant and head, Surgical Gastroenterology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (@ApolloHospitalsDelhi), New Delhi said, “In this case the diverticulum was located 6cm above the junction of food pipe with the stomach. The pouch was located in an area which is difficult to access at surgery and conventional open surgery for such a problem would require a large incision, sometimes extending from the abdomen to the chest. Therefore, he was recommended robot assisted minimally invasive surgical procedure.” 

Dr Vivek Tandon, Senior Consultant, Gastroenterology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (@ApolloHospitalsDelhi), New Delhi, said, “For this procedure Robotic instruments and telescope with attached camera were placed inside the patient’s abdominal cavity and the patient was operated. Robotic instruments have manoeuvrability akin to the human wrist and fingers in multiple planes allowing for precise surgical dissection in a three dimensional field of vision.”   

Apollo Hospitals has always been at the forefront of introducing the best of technology to ensure successful clinical outcomes. For robot assisted surgeries Apollo Hospitals has a robust team of experts along with dedicated facility/OTs to conduct these highly skilled procedures. Across its units in India Apollo Hospitals has performed multiple robot assisted procedures for health complications under specialities like Orthopaedic, Spine, Cardiology, ENT, Urology, Gynaecology, Gastrointestinal surgery, Bariatrics and Paediatrics.