Delhi woman has robotic surgery for rare adrenal tumour removal

The patient, suffering from persistent abdominal pain for months, was diagnosed only after scans at Safdarjung revealed the large tumour.

Doctors at Safdarjung Hospital have successfully removed a record-sized adrenal tumour measuring 18.2 x 13.5 cm from a 36-year-old woman from Delhi using robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, officials said. Performed entirely free of cost at the government-run hospital, the robotic adrenalectomy is being hailed as the largest such removal globally, with similar procedures in private hospitals costing between ₹1.8 lakh and ₹5 lakh.

The procedure involved smaller, precise incisions—around 8cm compared to the 20cm incision needed for open surgery, police said. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The patient, suffering from persistent abdominal pain for months, was diagnosed only after scans at Safdarjung revealed the large tumour. The three-hour procedure was led by Dr Pawan Vasudeva, professor and head, department of urology and renal transplant. “The tumour had grown to the size of a melon, situated between the liver, kidney, and inferior vena cava, exerting pressure on these critical structures,” Vasudeva said.

“Normally, for such a large tumour, open surgery is performed, which can cause significant blood loss and a recovery time of three weeks. In this robotic adrenalectomy, recovery was reduced to about a week,” he added. He further explained that robotic surgery involved smaller, precise incisions—around 8cm compared to the 20cm incision needed for open surgery—leading to less postoperative pain and a quicker return to normal activities.