Aligarh: A team of surgeons at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of Aligarh Muslim University successfully performed the first minimally invasive thoracoscopic esophagectomy on a middle-aged patient of carcinoma oesophagus, an advanced surgery for cancer of food pipe, visited the OPD with inability to swallow food for the past few months. He was diagnosed with the cancer of the esophagus i.e. food pipe, and was advised early surgery.

Later, a team of Gastro-surgeons comprising Prof Afzal Anees and Dr Meraj Ahmed, along with the anaesthesia team headed by Dr S Kamran Habib carried out the surgery and removed the tumour utilizing a minimally invasive technique. The patient recovered well after the surgery and started eating normally. He has been discharged from the JNMC in a satisfactory condition.

Dr Meraj Ahmed, Surgical Gastroenterologist and Assistant Professor said that surgery for cancer of the oesophagus is a challenging surgery, especially using minimally invasive techniques, which is being done at very few specialized centres across India. In this procedure, cancer is removed using advanced instruments by making small holes in the chest of the patient thereby avoiding large incisions and helping the patient’s fast recovery.

He said it is a proud moment that such surgical procedures have been started at AMU with a collaborative effort. He thanked the resident doctors, scrub nurses and paramedical staff, for their assistance.

Prof Afzal Anees expressed pride in the team’s achievement and said it is a transformative moment for our institution and represents a significant milestone in the history of the Surgery Department. Earlier, patients had to go to New Delhi for such procedures causing not only immense trouble but also a greater cost of treatment. Now they can be treated well at JNMC at a significantly lower cost.

Prof Veena Maheshwari, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Principal and CMS, JNMC congratulated the team, adding that this surgery highlights how advancements in technology and expertise can pave the way for improved healthcare outcomes at our hospital.