Lucknow, Jan 15 : For the first time in Uttar Pradesh, thyroid cancer has been removed by robotic surgery. Doctors at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) have successfully operated on a 21-year-old woman, who was suffering from papillary thyroid cancer, through robotic surgery. The hospital release said it was the first time in India that a cancerous thyroid gland was entirely removed through robotic surgery at a government institution. The patient, who hails from Prayagraj, had developed a lump in her, after which she was diagnosed at Kamala Nehru Cancer Hospital. As surgery without making an incision in the throat was not possible due to complications, she was referred to the Lucknow hospital, Dr Gyan Chand, the robotic thyroid surgeon at SGPGIMS, said. The patient -- a 21-year-old unmarried girl from Prayagraj -- had a thyroid lump in her neck, which was increasing continuously. After necessary tests at Kamla Nehru Cancer Hospital in Prayagraj, the doctors there told the family that it was a lump and it was malignant. Due to these complications, its surgery was not possible without making an incision in the throat. In such a situation, the patient and her family were very depressed and disappointed as this would leave the incision marks after the surgery. Doctors at Kamla Nehru Hospital then referred the patient to Dr. Gyan Chand, Robotic Thyroid Surgeon, SGPGI, Lucknow, for the surgery without making an incision in the neck. After necessary tests, it was found that the patient had papillary thyroid cancer, which could be removed by robotic method. After the consent of the family, Dr Gyan successfully removed many lumps, including the cancerous thyroid gland, in the patient's neck, without making an incision in a four-hour operation. The patient is now recovering well. /IANS