Prokar Dasgupta
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Prokar Dasgupta is an Indian-born British surgeon and academic who is professor of surgery at the surgical academy at
King's Health Partners King's Health Partners is an academic health science centre located in London, United Kingdom. It comprises King's College London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and South London and Ma ...
, London, UK. Since 2002, he has been consultant
urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''-logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary system and the reproductive organs. Org ...
to
Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...
, and in 2009 became the first professor of robotic surgery and
urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...
at King's, and subsequently the chairman of the King's College- Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery. Early in his career, he was a medical research fellow to Clare Fowler at the
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...
, Queen's Square, where they developed an outpatient procedure for treating
urinary incontinence Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any uncontrolled leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a significant effect on quality of life. Urinary incontinence is common in older women ...
in people with an
overactive bladder Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common condition where there is a frequent feeling of needing to urinate to a degree that it negatively affects a person's life. The frequent need to urinate may occur during the day, at night, or both. Loss of bl ...
that did not respond to usual medical treatment. They were the first in the UK to use this method of injecting
Botox Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endi ...
into the bladder wall using a flexible
cystoscope Cystoscopy is endoscopy of the urinary bladder via the urethra. It is carried out with a cystoscope. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The cystoscope has lenses like a telescope or microscop ...
, and it subsequently became known as the "Dasgupta technique". In 2005, he led the team that used a da Vinci robot to perform one of the early keyhole operations to retrieve a kidney as part of a
kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantat ...
, in Britain. Ten years later, he successfully removed a cancerous tumour from a man's
prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...
using a 3D-printed replica prostate as an aid to surgery. From 2013 to 2020 he was
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of the urology journal ''
British Journal of Urology International ''BJU International'' (or ''BJUI'', formerly known as the ''British Journal of Urology'') is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that was established in 1929. The editor-in-chief is Freddie Hamdy and the journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell ...
'' (BJUI). His awards include the Fellowship of King's College in 2018, the St Peter's Medal from the
British Association of Urological Surgeons The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) is a professional association in the United Kingdom for urology professionals. Its official journal is the '' BJU International'', established in 1929, which is also the journal of the Urolo ...
(BAUS) in 2020, the Kings James IV Professorship of surgery by the
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...
, and the
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
from the Indian government in 2022.


Early life and education

Prokar Dasgupta was born in
Rourkela Rourkela () is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of the state capital Bhubaneswar and is ...
,
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
, India. Part of his childhood was spent in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
, his mother's ancestral home city. He received his early education at St Paul's School, Rourkela, before studying at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. In 1989 he received his
medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
from the Medical College, Kolkata. He did his surgical house job at the David Hare Block. In 1991 he gained a
Diplomate of National Board The Diplomate of National Board (DNB) is a postgraduate degree in medicine awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on completion of three-yea ...
, India.


Career

He completed his
FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...
in 1994 and as a Medical Research Council Fellow gained a masters in urology in 1996, FRCS in Urology in 2000 and MD from the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
in 2001. Before his work on problems of the bladder and prostate, his early research involved the study of the
immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...
of
Leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by protozoal parasites of the Trypanosomatida genus ''Leishmania''. It is generally spread through the bite of Phlebotominae, phlebotomine Sandfly, sandflies, ''Phlebotomus'' an ...
.


The overactive bladder

Dasgupta's research has included looking at the role and safety of the chilli component
capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) (, rarely ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a potent Irritation, irritant for Mammal, mammals, including humans, and produces ...
. In this field, he demonstrated an improvement in symptoms following a course of capsaicin instillation into the bladder in managing
urinary incontinence Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any uncontrolled leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a significant effect on quality of life. Urinary incontinence is common in older women ...
due to an
overactive bladder Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common condition where there is a frequent feeling of needing to urinate to a degree that it negatively affects a person's life. The frequent need to urinate may occur during the day, at night, or both. Loss of bl ...
. In 1998, his paper on the topic showed that in people treated with capsaicin instillation, bladder biopsies were normal after five years. Whilst working at the
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...
, Queen Square, as a medical research fellow to Clare Fowler, they developed a technique of injecting
botox Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endi ...
into the bladder wall to target bladder nerves for treating urinary incontinence due to an overactive bladder that did not respond to traditional measures and usual medications. They were the first in the UK to use this method using a flexible
cystoscope Cystoscopy is endoscopy of the urinary bladder via the urethra. It is carried out with a cystoscope. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The cystoscope has lenses like a telescope or microscop ...
. The procedure does not require an operating room or general anaesthetic. In 2002 he was appointed consultant urologist to Guy's Hospital. Three years later, his Botox technique was presented at the 2005 BAUS Annual Scientific Meeting in Glasgow and became known as the 'Dasgupta technique'. He was a co-principal investigator in the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study pertaining to the procedure, conducted at Guy's Hospital, and it was included as a second-line treatment for refractory overactive bladder by the UK's
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care (United Kingdom), Department of Health and Social Care. As the national health technolog ...
(NICE) in 2006. It was endorsed by the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...
in 2014, as a second-line option following failure of other treatments. Others have since used and modified the procedure.


Robotics

In 2005, Dasgupta led the team that used a da Vinci robot to perform one of the early keyhole operations to retrieve a kidney as part of a
kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantat ...
, in Britain. In 2009, he became the first
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of robotic surgery and urology at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
and subsequently was appointed chairman of the King's College- Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery. In 2014, he spoke at Pakistan's
Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation The Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT) is a dialysis and kidney transplant centre located in Pakistan. SIUT was founded by Adeebul Hasan Rizvi and it is one of the largest kidney disease center in Pakistan. History It beg ...
with proposals to assist Pakistani surgeons with robotic surgery. The following year he was appointed honorary director in the Department of Robotic Surgery at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, in Kolkata, India. In November 2015, he successfully removed a cancerous tumour from a man's prostate using a 3D-printed replica prostate as a pre-surgical aid. The procedure was broadcast at the worldwide robotic surgery 24 hour event. In 2020, he was appointed professor of surgery at the surgical academy at
King's Health Partners King's Health Partners is an academic health science centre located in London, United Kingdom. It comprises King's College London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and South London and Ma ...
, an
academic health science centre An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic health science system, or academic health science partnership, is an educational and healthcare institute formed by the grouping of a health profes ...
in London, incorporating
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
,
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust of the English National Health Service, one of the prestigious Shelford Group. It runs Guy's Hospital in London Bridge, St Thomas' Hospital in Waterloo, Evelina London Child ...
,
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS trust in London, England. It is closely involved with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, with which it shares its chair, Sir Hugh Taylor, its strategy director and IT director. It ...
and
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, also known as SLaM, is an NHS foundation trust based in London, England, which specialises in mental health. It comprises four psychiatric hospitals (Bethlem Royal Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and t ...
.


Journal editor

Between 2013 and 2020 he was
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of the urology journal, '' BJU International'' (''BJUI)''. He sits on the Board of Studies,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. These institutes ha ...
, Rishikesh.


Charity work

He is involved in developing treatments for prostate cancer with King's College's Prostate Cancer Research Centre, of which he is a trustee. He is also a trustee of the prostate charities The Malcolm Coptcoat Trust.


Honours and awards

In 2006 the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) awarded Dasgupta the Karl Storz Harold Hopkins Golden Telescope award. He was appointed president of the
Hunterian Society The Hunterian Society, founded in 1819 in honour of the Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728–1793), is a medical society based at the Medical Society of London, London. Established by William Cooke, a general practitioner, and Thomas Armiger ...
for 2012–2013. In 2017 he was awarded the Fellowship of the
Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...
. The following year he received the Fellowship of King's College. In 2020 he received the St Peter's Medal from the BAUS.Celebrating the past present and future of Urology, preliminary program
British Association of Urological Surgeons 2020, 75th annual meeting program. November 2020, p.6.
In 2021 the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh made him Kings James IV Professor of surgery. In 2022 the Indian government awarded him the
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
. Dasgupta was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the
2023 Birthday Honours The 2023 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part ...
for services to surgery and science.


Selected publications

Dasgupta has authored and co-authored over 1100 articles including more than 600 peer-reviewed papers in addition to 10 books and 25 chapters.


Articles

* (Co-author) * (Co-author) * (Co-author) * (Co-author) * (Co-author)


Books

* (Co-authored with Roger Kirby) * (Co-authored with Kamran Ahmed, Peter Jaye and Mohammed Shamim Khan)


References


Further reading

*Dasgupta, Prokar (2000)
Towards an understanding of the role of intravesical capsaicin in the treatment of detrusor hyperreflexia
Institute of Neurology. The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Submitted for the MD degree of The University of London. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Prokar 1966 births Living people Alumni of the University of London Academics of King's College London British urologists Indian emigrants to England University of Calcutta alumni Recipients of the St Peter's Medal Officers of the Order of the British Empire British surgeons Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine