This is the first case in Russia when a patient of such a young age undergoes robotic surgery for this urologic disease.
In the autumn of 2019, a nine-year-old boy first showed symptoms of the disease: painful, rapid, sometimes difficult urination, a feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder.
The child was diagnosed with a «congenital abnormality of the urinary tract – Müllerian duct cyst.» The size of the mass exceeded the filled bladder. At St. Petersburg Pediatric Medical University, the patient was finally diagnosed with a true bladder diverticulum (saccular protrusion of all layers of the bladder wall, communicating with the main cavity of the organ).
The disease itself is not rare, but a diverticulum of such a large size and arrangement is not common in patients. Considering the size and location of the mass, the option was to perform a robot-assisted surgery at Almazov Centre.
Director of the Perinatology and Pediatrics Institute of Almazov Centre, Tatiana Pervunina organized the preparation for surgery, selection of an anesthesiology team and supervising doctors. The surgery was successfully performed by Professor Mikhail Mosoyan, Head of Urology Department with a Robotic Surgery Course, with the participation of Anna Suhotskaya, Head of Department for Pediatric Surgery of Birth Defects, and Dmitry Fedorov, Head of Urology Department. The operating consultant was Professor Igor Osipov, Head of Urology Department at St. Petersburg Pediatric Medical University. The team used a combination of modern endourological technologies and robotic surgery. The surgery lasted for about 2 hours, and the diverticulum of the bladder was completely removed.
Currently, the boy is doing well and recovering quickly. He thereafter will make a full recovery and will be discharged home.