Gill is an alum of Dayanand Medical College.

Inderbir S. Gill; photo credit: YouTube

By Raif Karerat
Follow @ambazaarmag

WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American surgeon has led his team from the USC Institute of Urology to the forefront of medical technology, having mastered the skills necessary to perform robotic surgery on patients with advanced kidney cancer.

Generally, the procedure to remove a blood clot that can develop in the major vein leading to the heart — called inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombectomy — is an arduous, complicated procedure that is performed using a large, open incision.

“This complicated procedure for renal cancer is one of the most challenging open urologic oncologic surgeries,” explained Inderbir S. Gill in a paper published by the Journal of Urology.

In order to alleviate the risk to patients, the team from USC Institute of Urology in Los Angeles has learned to perform the lengthy procedure using only seven small incisions and four robotic tools.

“The ability to do this complicated procedure in a minimally invasive way represents a major advancement,” Gill noted.
Thus far, the team has performed the robotic surgery on nine cancer patients, and after about seven montyhs of follow-up,
all have survived and eight show no signs of the disease.

According to Keck Medicine of USC, Gill has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Dr. B.C. Roy National Award, presented by the President of India for Eminent Medical Person in India. It marked the first time a physician living outside of India was selected for this national award. Dr. Gill also was awarded the St. Paul’s Medal by the British Association of Urological Surgeons, which is the highest honor bestowed by the organization.
He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 50 book chapters and eight textbooks. He was elected to the prestigious American Association of Genito-Urinary Surgeons in 2003, and was selected as European Urology’s first North American editor.
Having received his M.D. and master’s degree from Indian institutions — Punjabi University and Dayanand Medical College, respectively — Gill is currently the Chairman and Professor of the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology at USC, founding Executive Director of the USC Institute of Urology, and Associate Dean for Clinical Innovation.

...