Mumbai: Sion resident, 98, is oldest Indian to undergo kidney surgery

Dr Vinit Shah, consultant, urology; Dr Snehal Saghavi, consultant, internal medicine; Shantilal Vora; Dr Jueeli Barpande, anaesthesia and pain management; Dr Hemant Mehta, director, anaesthesia and pain management

On March 8, 98-year-old Sion resident Shantilal Vora suddenly felt immense pain in his abdomen and was unable to breathe. As it turned out, he had a kidney ailment and had to undergo surgery. According to doctors undergoing the procedure at such an age was risky and if a person has co-morbidities, the risk is much higher. However, it was Vora's sheer willpower to survive and trust in doctors which make the surgery successful. According to the Urological Society of India, Vora is the oldest person in India to undergo renal stone removal surgery.

"He was in immense pain but was not scared about going under the knife. He always tells us that he wants to live life to the fullest," said Bhadra Vora, Shantilal's daughter-in-law.

Bhadra told mid-day, "We took him to the doctor and as per their advice, we immediately had his blood and urine tested. The report was very bad. My father-in-law is very fond of HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and has trust and faith in doctors. He told us to take him there for further treatment. At 11.30 pm on March 8, he was taken to the hospital."

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According to a doctor, the patient was brought to the hospital in a critical condition, with an acute kidney injury and multi-drug resistant urosepsis, among other complications. Further examinations reveal that he had a lumbar compression fracture as well as he had fallen some time ago. "Further examinations indicated that he needed urgent renal stone removal surgery," said the doctor.

Dr Vinit J Shah, consultant, urology, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, said, "His surgery was complicated not only due to his age but also as he had undergone cardiac bypass surgery 13 years ago. Also has hypertension and cirrhosis of the liver. On arrival at the hospital, the patient was extremely dehydrated and in immense pain. Reports were suggestive of severe hypercalcemia secondary to hypervitaminosis D with acute kidney injury with a creatinine of 2.8 and urinary tract infection, which was multi-drug resistant. "

He added, "As his pain persisted, a CT scan of the abdomen was done which revealed obstructive left ureteric calculus of 6 to 8mm. After proper optimisation, he was taken for surgery."

As the surgery involved risk, the medical team explained the situation to the family. "After receiving the family's consent, we started a left ureteroscopy with laser fragmentation of the stone and stenting on March 20. With the help of advanced pain management and post-operative care, he was directly shifted to the normal ward post-operation, an achievement in itself," said Dr Shah.

Dr Amol Wagh, unit head of general surgery, Grant Medical College and Sr JJ Group of Hospitals, said, "As doctors, we can't abandon a patient, saying that if he is too old, we won't operate on him. If surgery is the only option to relieve the patient from suffering, we must gauge whether the patient will be able to bear the procedure or not and whether we have access to everything required for the task. It is challenging to operate on old people with co-morbidities but not impossible." Vora was discharged on March 24.

8
Day in March when Shantilal Vora was admitted