This peer-reviewed paper, published in European Urology, sets out the step-by-step surgical technique for robotic kidney transplantation (RKT) performed under regional hypothermia — the approach developed jointly by the Vattikuti Urology Institute (Detroit) and the Medanta team in India, with Dr. Rajesh Ahlawat as a lead surgeon and author.
Developed using the IDEAL framework for the safe introduction of new surgical procedures, the technique addresses the central challenge of robotic transplantation: keeping the donor kidney cool during implantation to protect it from warm-ischaemic injury. It has since been adopted at leading transplant centres around the world.
Citation: Menon M, Sood A, Bhandari M, Kher V, Ghosh P, Abaza R, Jeong W, Ghani KR, Kumar RK, Modi P, Ahlawat R. Robotic Kidney Transplantation with Regional Hypothermia: A Step-by-step Description of the Vattikuti Urology Institute–Medanta Technique (IDEAL Phase 2a). Eur Urol. 2014 May;65(5):991–1000.