World's largest adrenal tumour removed robotically by Delhi doctors

Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi has reached a new milestone in its robotic surgery programme, successfully removing a giant adrenal tumour from a 36-year-old woman, according to ANI.

Dr Sandeep Bansal, the hospital’s Medical Superintendent, said the adrenal tumour, measuring 18.2 x 13.5 cm, is the largest ever in the world to be taken out robotically through a minimally invasive surgery.

The complex surgery was led by Professor and Head of Urology and Renal Transplant, Dr Pawan Vasudeva, along with Dr Niraj Kumar and Dr Avishek Mandal. The anaesthesia team included Dr Sushil, Dr Bhavya and Dr Megha.


The operation was extremely risky because the tumour had grown so large that it was stuck closely to three critical body structures, the Inferior Vena Cava, the liver, and the right kidney.

Dr Vasudeva said the main challenge was to remove the tumour completely without damaging these important structures. He explained that the 3D vision and flexible arms of the Da Vinci robot allow for very precise work, making it possible to perform surgeries with greater accuracy than traditional laparoscopy. In this case, the surgery took over three hours and the team successfully removed the tumour without any complications. The patient recovered well and was discharged after three days.

Robotic surgery comes with many benefits, such as tiny keyhole cuts, less pain after surgery, quicker recovery, and faster return to normal life. Dr Vasudeva noted that if the same operation had been done through an open surgery, it would have needed a cut longer than 20 cm, and healing would have taken weeks.

Dr Sandeep Bansal highlighted that this achievement shows Safdarjung Hospital’s skill in robotic surgery and its commitment to providing advanced healthcare free of cost to all patients.

A robotic surgery of this complexity would have cost several lakhs in a private hospital, but at Safdarjung, it was done completely free, ANI reported.

Inputs from ANI