GBP Hospital, the prime referral healthcare facility in Tripura, has registered another success by performing a rare surgery.
This time, the medical team performed the state’s first esophageal bypass surgery using a section of the colon, offering a new lease on life to a young patient, who had lost his ability to eat or drink normally for over a year.
Medical Superintendent of GBP Hospital Dr. Shankar Chakraborty and Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Kanak Narayan Bhattacharjee among others detailed the success in a press conference on Thursday.
23-year-old Prasenjit Das, a resident of Madhupur in Sipahijala district, had consumed formic acid in March 2024 following a family dispute. He was initially treated at the Madhupur Primary Health Centre, where it was discovered that the acid had severely damaged and eventually closed his esophagus.
Since then, the youth had been surviving without the ability to consume solid food or even water normally. For the past one and a half years, he had been dependent on alternative feeding methods.
On June 3, 2025, his family brought him to GBP Hospital for advanced treatment.
Gastroenterologists Dr. Mrinal Debbarma and Dr. Subhadeep Pal conducted an endoscopy and diagnosed severe esophageal stricture. Although repeated dilatation procedures offered temporary relief, the treatment eventually became ineffective. Feeding had to be continued via an intestinal route through an abdominal hole.
Subsequently, the patient was referred to Dr. Dipankar Shankar Mitra of the Gastro Surgery department. Recognizing the complexity of the case, Dr. Mitra consulted with Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Kanak Narayan Bhattacharjee, and the medical team collectively decided on a colon interposition surgery— a rare and technically demanding procedure in which a section of the colon is used to replace the damaged esophagus.
On June 5, a joint surgical team led by Dr. Mitra and Dr. Bhattacharjee conducted the high-risk operation inside the CTVS (Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery) operation theatre at GBP Hospital. The seven-hour surgery involved repositioning a section of the colon from the abdomen, through the chest, to the neck, ensuring uninterrupted blood flow and functionality in place of the esophagus.
According to the hospital authority, the patient is currently in stable condition and gradually recovering. He has begun to consume liquid food and will soon undergo a barium CT scan before being discharged. The patient and his family have expressed immense relief and gratitude to the entire medical team.
Remarkably, the complex procedure was performed entirely free of cost under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), ensuring that financial burden did not hinder life-saving care, the Medical Superintendent said.
The surgical team also included Dr. Kishore, Dr. Kiran, Dr. Abhinav, anesthesiologists Dr. Manimoy Debbarma and Dr. Surajit Pal, and OT staff Sudipta Mandal (Physician Assistant), OT Assistants Joydeep Chakraborty and Ratan Mandal, and OT Nurses Saurabh Shil, Mousumi Debnath, and Anna Bahadur Jamatia.