A hospital in Kerala's Kochi city performed 60 robotic surgeries over a span of six months, which it claimed was a first-of-its-kind milestone in the sector.
Aster Medcity in Kochi is the state's first hospital to have a robotic surgery unit and a specialized Minimal Access Robotic Surgery (MARS) team. It has carried out robotic surgeries in the areas of urology, gastro, gynecology, obstetrics and oncology.
"A robot's arm or camera reaches the places in a human body where a doctor's eyes don't reach and get minute details. When he performs stitching on a person his hands my shiver but the same does not happen with a robot. These are the benefits of using a robot for a surgery," said Chief Medical Superintendent Narayanan Unni.
The CEO of Aster Medcity, Dr. Harish Pillai, said the achievement was a small step towards making Kerala, the country's healthcare hub.
"Our doctors in Kerala are really world class. In India anywhere you go its only Malayali nurses you find and this is the state I would say incubator for healthcare for our country. The aspect that one milestone of doing 60 robotic surgeries in six months is probably one small step that hopefully in five years' time all hospitals in state public hospitals and private hospitals will collectively work together to make Kerala India's healthcare hub," said Pillai.
Touted as less invasive and more efficient, robotic surgeries typically use a laparoscopic or "keyhold surgery" approach, in which tools and a tiny video camera are inserted into the body through one or two small incisions.
Robotic surgery replaces a surgeon's hands with ultra-precise tools at the ends of mechanical arms, all operated by the surgeon from a console.
