Patna: In a significant medical breakthrough, the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences has successfully performed Bihar’s first robotic surgery for pancreatic cancer at a substantially reduced cost, hospital officials said.
According to Dr Manish Mandal, medical superintendent at the institute, a 71-year-old man from Wajidpur in Darbhanga had been suffering from jaundice and fever and had sought treatment from multiple doctors over the past two months. During a recent visit to the OPD of Dr Rakesh Kumar Singh in the department of gastrointestinal surgery, diagnostic tests including blood work and an abdominal CT scan confirmed pancreatic cancer.
Dr Rakesh Kumar Singh, additional professor of GI surgery, said conventional surgical approaches for pancreatic cancer — whether open surgery or laparoscopic procedures — are complex, time-consuming and often involve significant blood loss, requiring ICU care and ventilator support. He added that such procedures typically cost around Rs 1 lakh at the institute.
In this case, however, the surgery was carried out using robotic technology under a special package costing Rs 50,000 — a first for the state.
The six-hour procedure was followed by overnight monitoring in the ICU. On the second day, the patient was shifted to the general ward and was reported to be in stable condition. Doctors said he is expected to be given food on the third day and, if recovery continues as planned, discharged soon thereafter.
Dr Vibhuti Prasanna Sinha, deputy director of the institute, welcomed the development and congratulated the surgical, anaesthesia and support teams involved in the procedure.
The institute’s director, Dr Binde Kumar, said advanced robotic surgeries would now be carried out more regularly across departments at IGIMS at affordable costs. He added that the initiative would reduce the need for patients from Bihar to travel to other states for such procedures, saving both time and money.
The surgical team included Dr Rakesh Kumar Singh, Tushar Patel and Dr Netra Nand from the surgery department, along with anaesthesia specialists Dr Vinod Kumar Verma, Dr Vibha and Dr Anantu. Nursing and operational support staff were also acknowledged for their role in the successful outcome.
Officials said the development marks a step forward in expanding access to advanced healthcare technologies within the state.
