The Hindu : National : A record he is not quite proud of

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 21, 2005

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National

A record he is not quite proud of

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Afraid to go under the knife after being detected with a stone in his left kidney, 36-year-old Mumbai police constable Vilas Ghuge waited for 18 long years before he decided to give up medicines, injections and prayers that he had stuck to for relief.

Having endured much physical pain, he decided last year that the kidney stone just had to go. And in the process this young resident of Mahim in Mumbai set a world record.

And while he is not exactly proud of this one, it has firmly placed Indian surgeons on the world map for having successfully removed the largest kidney stone measuring 13 cm at the widest point without open surgery.

Marathon procedure

Having applied and finally received Guinness World Records certificate last month after waiting for nearly a year, the credit for conducting the marathon procedure on Vilas has been bagged by R. G. Stone Urological Research Institute in Mumbai. This entry will now figure in the 2007 edition of Guinness World Records.

Announcing the feat here on Tuesday, Executive Director of R. G. Stone Urological Research Institute, Hanish Bansal, said: "The patient came to us in Mumbai way back in early 2004 with the stone and doctors were certain that it had to be removed. On February 18, 2004, Vilas endured a four-hour procedure where we introduced laser through minimal invasive technique and broke the stone into small pieces, enabling the body to flush it out. What we used for Vilas was Holmium Laser-Platinum Standard popularly known as HOLEP, which is the latest technology available worldwide to treat diseases including enlarged prostate cancer."

A week's recuperation

Since the size of the stone was large, Mr. Bansal said Vilas had to sit through two other follow up sessions and was kept under observation to detect any reformation of the stone. "He was also told to immediately inform us about any discomfort," he said.

And with the procedure while Vilas escaped going under the knife, he had to stay in the hospital recuperating for about a week.

Mr. Bansal said: "The size of the stone itself was a challenge and we were certain that the patient was happiest without open surgery. We were also not sure how the body would react to the procedure, which added to the risk factor. Vilas now needs constant monitoring and we are happy with the progress he has made."

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