Surgeries with a robot's assisstance in Bangalore

The Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS), a boon in these times when going under a surgeon’s scalpel is routine, can now be accessed in the city. Besides oncological treatment, RAS can be performed in urology, gynaecology, ENT and select cardiac procedures.

Over the past five days, Manipal Hospital has undertaken about 16 successful surgeries with assistance from a robot, the da Vinci surgical system.

On Monday, the Manipal Health Enterprise (MHE) launched the Manipal Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery in their flagship hospital in the city.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sudarshan Ballal, medical director, MHE, said, “RAS can be used for many types of surgeries, from oncology to urology. The major advantage of RAS is that the incisions made during surgery are tiny. Thus, the recovery is quick.”

On an average, a patient undergoing RAS would leave the hospital two to five days earlier than those who have undergone traditional surgery and return to work with normal activity 50% faster. An additional benefit of RAS is that it can reach where surgeon’s hands cannot and allows 3600 rotation, which is humanly not possible. Thus, robots take surgery beyond the limits and reach of the human hand.

Launching Manipal Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery, Padmabhushan Dr Ramdas Pai, chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group, said: “RAS would take surgery to the next level of medical excellence. It will open a new chapter in delivering quality healthcare and enhance clinical outcome for the community at large.”

P Balaram, director, Indian Institute of Science, said, “It is about time that we focus on the fusion of research, medicine and engineering. Today, India has no dearth of good physicians and surgeons. But now we should think of how to move to a stage where technology can improve patient care in hospitals.”