New Delhi: Doctors at AIIMS, Delhi operated on a 51-year-old woman suffering from uterine cancer and having severe comorbidities such as kidney failure and cardiac issues with uncontrolled diabetes, which made her a life-threatening “high-risk” case for cancer surgery.
Surgeons with onco-anaesthetists at the Institute of Rotary Cancer Hospital rose to the challenge, navigating the complexities of a high-risk patient with multiple life-threatening comorbidities, while also managing the nuances of a VIP case.
Dr M D Ray, professor, surgical oncology at the Institute of Rotary Cancer Hospital at AIIMS, said the woman was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus.
“Besides that, she had multiple comorbidities such as kidney failure, uncontrolled high blood pressure and cardiac issues with uncontrolled diabetes etc, which made her condition complex and inoperable,” professor Ray said.
She had undergone several consultations but nobody took the risk of operating on her because of the high possibility of “on-table death”, said Dr Rakesh Garg, professor at the Department of Onco Anaesthesia at IRCH said
The onco-anesthesiologist’s initial reservations about surgery were well-founded, given the patient’s precarious condition and the ever-present risk of intraoperative mortality, Dr Ray said.
“However, after meticulous planning and collaboration, the patient underwent a successful staging laparotomy on July 21, 2025, comprising radical hysterectomy in which the uterus, cervix and both the ovaries were removed to get rid of cancer,” Dr Ray explained.
The surgeons also removed possible suspected sites where the cancer could spread. The cancerous elements have been removed from her body, Dr Ray said.
The surgery held on July 21 lasted one hour without blood loss and stable vital signs. Postoperative care was equally challenging, with ICU admission for close monitoring due to decreased urine output, elevated blood sugar levels, and fluctuating high blood pressure, despite dialysis the day before surgery.
“A day before the surgery, the patient underwent dialysis and even after the surgery on the third day, the patient underwent dialysis successfully and was discharged on the fourth day,” he said.
Despite persistent serum creatinine elevation, necessitating further dialysis, the patient demonstrated remarkable resilience and recovered well. PTI>
