THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A patient underwent surgery at the Medical College Hospital here to create an artificial urethra with the skin inside her mouth. This keyhole surgery was performed under the leadership of Dr. PR Saju, Unit Head of Department of Urology.

The surgery was successfully completed on a 32-year-old woman from Kattakkada, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital due to urinary tract problems. The surgery is the first of its kind in the state's medical colleges, which has only been done in a few big hospitals abroad and in India.

The woman underwent a surgery in 2013 for a urinary tract problem, but the disease did not go away. A stent was placed in the urethra in 2019 but it did not work. Function of her kidney also decreased. Then the doctors decided to create an artificial urethra. After cutting out the blocked part of the patient's urethra through keyhole surgery, a new urethra made from the skin inside the mouth called buccal mucosa was implanted. After the four-hour long surgery, the patient's health condition improved. Kidneys are also functioning normally.

Dr MK Manu, Dr Annappa Kammath, Dr Himamshu Pandey, Dr Sudheer, Dr Nagaraj, Dr Prithvi Vasanth, Dr Aquil, Dr Arun Kumar from the Department of Anesthesia, Dr Kavya, Dr Hari, Dr Jayachandran, nurses Ramya, Udayarani, Geena and Maya and technical staff Nijin and Praveen took part in the surgery.