Laparoscopic Whipple procedure performed in record 4-hours at SMHS Hospital

Srinagar, Nov 25: An expert team of surgeons led by Prof Mushtaq Chalkoo, renowned faculty and laparoscopic surgeon at GMC Srinagar, performed a complex and successful laparoscopic Whipple procedure at SMHS Hospital today.

The procedure was done on a female patient in a record time of four hours. The achievement elucidates the expertise and finesse in advanced lapro-surgeries at SMHS Hospital.

Prof Chalkoo said the patient had initially been referred to the hospital with a suspected gastric polyp, and further diagnostic investigations revealed a four cm periampullary tumor and two antral polyps. The patient underwent a laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure), a complex surgery typically performed at advanced centers.

“In the best hands, the procedure typically takes 6-7 hours. We have reduced the time of surgery. Last time it took us less than 6 hours, and today we were able to successfully complete it in 4 hours only,” he said. Prof Chalkoo said the entire procedure was carried out totally laparoscopically.

Globally, the procedure is carried out at advanced centers and about four percent of surgeons are competent to carry it out laparoscopically, SMHS Hospital said.

The female patient who underwent surgery hailed from Baramulla district and is in her 50s. The four-hour procedure was completed without complications, and the patient's postoperative status has been uneventful, the hospital said.

The Whipple procedure is a highly specialised surgery, and its successful completion in a record time highlights GMC Srinagar’s commitment to providing advanced surgical and medical care.