Head - General, MI & Bariatric Surgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, India
Part 8 of 12 in Evolution of Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery to Help Mankind
Colorectal Surgery: Fistula, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease
July 19, 2026
For haemorrhoids, anal fissure and fistula-in-ano, Dr. Durkhure's team relies on day-care procedures: laser haemorrhoidoplasty, stapled haemorrhoidopexy, and a seton stitch technique for fistulas. Textbook fistula surgery success rates are quoted at 60-70%, but because his own team performs every dressing and follow-up visit personally, he says almost no patient, local or international, leaves the hospital with a fistula still unhealed.
Patients with recurrent rectal bleeding, weight loss and increasing stool frequency who turn out to have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease are first offered medical therapy by his gastroenterology colleagues; if that fails, or long-term steroid use starts damaging bone quality, the entire colon is removed and replaced with an ileal J-pouch. His team recently completed a full laparoscopic total colectomy through just three working ports, extracting the entire specimen through a single small incision.
This guide is based on a live Jivo Masterclass — Dr. Rakesh Durkhure taught doctors across Africa on July 19, 2026.
FROM THE LIVE Q&A
Dr. Aleem, Ethiopia
What are the complications of robotic thyroidectomy compared with conventional open thyroidectomy?
Dr. Rakesh Durkhure
Think of it like Formula One racing — an F1 driver put on a city road will crash everywhere, and a city driver put on an F1 track won't know how to handle it. Every surgical approach needs specific training, and with the right training complications are very few. The key criterion is size: if the thyroid nodule or lobe is under 6 centimetres, I do it robotically or laparoscopically; above that, I advise open surgery regardless of cosmetic preference. In every case I identify the recurrent laryngeal nerve on both sides and all four parathyroid glands before removing the thyroid — the rule is, don't touch what you haven't seen.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro replace the need for bariatric surgery?▼
The two have a complementary role, not a replacement one. Weekly injectable GLP-1 drugs aren't a permanent cure, and if a patient's BMI is above 45 or 50, injections alone won't take them from 150 kg to 75 kg — that needs a definitive, more durable intervention. But if someone just wants to go from 100 kg to 85 kg, injections are the right option and no surgery is needed. I sometimes even use GLP-1 injections for two to three months before surgery, to bring a patient's BMI down to a level the anaesthesiologist is comfortable with — so the two approaches often work together.
How do you treat stress urinary incontinence robotically?▼
In females the urethra is only about 4 centimetres long, and incontinence happens when the internal urethral meatus — where the urethra meets the bladder — sags downward and loses muscular control. My job is to lift that junction back into its correct anatomical position, using a procedure called Burch colposuspension: three sutures on each side of the urethra along the anterior vaginal wall, lifted and fixed to Cooper's ligament. Doing this robotically lets me suture in that very narrow retropubic space with far more precision than laparoscopically. The surgery takes about an hour and the patient goes home happily the next day.
If a patient follows the lifestyle recommendations properly after sleeve gastrectomy, is there still a chance of weight regain?▼
No. If the lifestyle is maintained correctly — diet, exercise, behaviour — there is no chance of weight regain. It's entirely lifestyle-related.
How can healthcare professionals in other countries help patients access this kind of technology, especially given financial constraints?▼
I can teach laparoscopic surgery in one to two months to any doctor or surgeon who wants to travel to India — I can generate good surgeons, and at least my students say I'm a good teacher. For the financial and logistical side of a patient's journey, that's where Jivo's team comes in: share the case with us, and even before a patient decides to travel, the hospital can give a tentative cost estimate to work from.
For the sleeve gastrectomy slide, what does ‘two-year recurrence’ actually mean — is it temporary?▼
The ‘recurrence’ there refers to regain of body weight, not recurrence of disease. It happens when the patient's lifestyle doesn't change after surgery — the sleeve gradually dilates over time, though the stomach never reverts to its original size. When that happens, we convert the sleeve into a mini gastric bypass, and the patient starts losing weight again.
What day-care procedures are used to treat haemorrhoids?▼
Laser haemorrhoidoplasty and stapled haemorrhoidopexy.
How is fistula-in-ano treated?▼
With a seton stitch technique.
What is the typical success rate for fistula surgery, and how does this practice compare?▼
Textbook success rates are quoted at 60 to 70%, but because the team performs every dressing and follow-up visit personally, almost no patient leaves the hospital with a fistula still unhealed.
When is surgery recommended for ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease?▼
Patients are first offered medical therapy; if that fails, or long-term steroid use starts damaging bone quality, the entire colon is removed and replaced with an ileal J-pouch.
How many incisions are needed for a full colectomy using this laparoscopic technique?▼
A full laparoscopic total colectomy has been completed through just three working ports, extracting the entire specimen through a single small incision.
In This Series: Evolution of Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery to Help Mankind
- 1.Evolution of Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery
- 2.The da Vinci Robotic System: How Robotic Surgery Compares to Laparoscopic Surgery
- 3.Heller Myotomy and Nissen Fundoplication: Robotic Oesophageal Surgery
- 4.Scarless Thyroidectomy: The Remote-Access Approach
- 5.ICG-Guided Robotic Cholecystectomy and Laparoscopic CBD Stone Clearance
- 6.Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Options Compared
- 7.Can GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic Replace Bariatric Surgery?
- 8.Colorectal Surgery: Fistula, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease
- 9.Robotic Rectopexy for Rectal Prolapse
- 10.Robotic Hernia Repair: Inguinal, Incisional and Umbilical
- 11.Robotic Burch Colposuspension for Stress Urinary Incontinence
- 12.How Artemis Hospital's International Patient Care Philosophy Works