In a first, bypass surgery performed using robot
In a first in India, a robotically-assisted bypass surgery was performed on a 67-year-old patient by doctors at Saifee Hospital. It is the first hospital in India that has performed this surgery via the minimal access route, which was robotically assisted.
The doctors said that the advantage of such a surgery is that the incisions that are made are tiny, and therefore recovery from surgery is extremely quick with significantly reduced blood loss and post-operative pain.
Robotic bypass surgery is designed to make endoscopic heart operations feasible. The Da Vinci Si Surgical System enables a skilled robotic surgeon to provide patients with superior minimally invasive surgical options.
The full HD 3D vision with endo wrist movement ability of instruments assists the surgeon in performing complex operations with greater dexterity and precision via the minimal access route.
It is also necessary that the surgeon should be 100 per cent in control of the robot while performing the surgery. “At the first instance, an endoscope is delivered through a small incision in the chest wall and two robotic surgical instruments are passed through additional tiny incisions. The surgeon can control the robotic surgical instruments using a surgeon's console,” said Dr Aliasgar Beherenwala, cardiothoracic surgeon.
It was a complicated surgery as the patient’s family was not ready for the robotic assisted surgery and it was a challenge for the team.
“The surgery was performed with my consent and doctors had explained everything to me about this surgery. After fifteen days of the surgery I was normal and was able to do my day-to-day work,” said Burhan Motiwala, a patient.
With this surgery patients recover very fast with no scars. It is evident that the healthcare sector in India is evolving at a rapid pace and the response for such robotic surgeries in India is very positive.
“Such surgeries are not only cost-effective for patients but recovery time is also drastically reduced,” added Dr Beherenwala.