Chennai: In the backdrop of the recent National Health Protection Plan announcement, hundreds of surgeons from pediatrics, urology, bariatric are heading to a specialist conference to gain insights from fellow practitioners in their respective fields this week.
Going by the agendas of national medical conferences this week — 13th Pediatrics Endoscopic Surgeons conference at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, 2nd National Conference of Robotic Urology Forum at PGI, Chandigarh (both between Feb 23-25) and 16th National Congress of Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society at Chennai February 22-24 — it is clear that the surgeons are serious about up skilling themselves.
By participating in these conferences, panel discussions, symposiums, sharing technical papers, making video presentations, the surgeons share experiences, expertise and practical solutions with others but they also learn from others.
Recognising the immense value that these conferences provide to the medical community, Vattikuti Foundation, is providing a da Vinci Surgical Robot to demonstrate the immense possibilities in the field of pediatric surgery, urology, head and neck surgery, and weight reduction.
“Live workshop feeds from operation theatres in hospitals equipped with da Vinci surgical Robots are a great way of learning various standard and novel procedures from surgeons from different locations,” said Dr. Arun Prasad, Chief of Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Centre, Apollo Hospital, New Delhi.
The surgeons at the Urology forum in Chandigarh will learn from some of the best known surgeons in the field, a variety of techniques in robot-assisted radical prostate removal without affecting the nerve that is involved in urinary bladder control.
The pediatric surgeon’s conference will cover the reconstruction of rare gastrointestinal tract, urinary system and lungs among newborns and infants using the surgical robot.
Robotic surgery, most beneficial for removing cancerous body cells, malignancies, tumours, is also used for repair and reconstruction of body parts like urinary bladder, uterus and pancreas.
“A da Vinci surgical robot is a bit of a miracle worker, an obedient assistant to an accomplished surgeon that enhances her ability to get a magnified view, allowing maneuverability that far exceeds a human hand. The big advantage is to do away with big cuts making healing far less painful and quicker,” said Dr. Gagan Gautam, Head, Urologic Oncology and Robotic Surgery, Max Institute of Cancer Care, New Delhi.
A trained surgeon is in charge every second of the way. A da Vinci robot is a breakthrough in minimally invasive surgery and a major step up from laparoscopic procedures. It means negligible blood loss, less pain, shorter post-op care and minimal hospital stay.
“Trained robotic surgeons contribute to the body of knowledge around procedures. Vattikuti Foundation and hundreds of surgeons around the world have worked in several specialties to develop new procedures using a robotic instrument. The conferences will help spread a new body of knowledge,” said Gopal Chakravarthy, CEO Of Vattikuti Technologies which has been working closely with Intuitive Surgical Inc. and Vattikuti Foundation to popularise Robotic Surgery in India.
Robotic Surgery allows for a hugely magnified view of the damaged tissue and provides very fine and precise instruments needed to access them inside the body and carry out the repair needed.
When working with a da Vinci, the surgeon, a specialist not only in the use of the machine, but also in his or her own field of surgery, is controlling the robotic arms, sending the right instrument in to remove or repair tissue. Because it is so precise, there is less chance of collateral damage. And because the cuts and incisions needed to send the robotic arms in are so tiny, the patient doesn’t have to suffer the not-insignificant trauma of full cut-open surgery.
Robotic Surgery fits almost every situation involving soft tissue. It is certainly proving better than traditional surgery in many gynecological cancers, head & neck and thoracic surgery, removal of organs such as the kidney, liver, pancreas, thyroid, prostrate, and uterus, urology ailments and more. Robotic Surgery is also being explored more and more for pediatric patients.
The Roving da Vinci Robot
The ‘Roving Robot’ project instituted by the Vattikuti Foundation allows doctors, surgeons and students of medicine to touch, feel and learn about benefits of robotic surgery that the Detroit-based Vattikuti Foundation has been evangelising in India. Vattikuti Technologies distributes the da Vinci robot created by US-based Intuitive Technologies.
Since July 2016, Intuitive Surgical Inc. authorized Training and Certification center at Amrita Hospital in Kochi has trained over 150 multi-specialty surgeons from India and neighboring countries.
India has a pool of over 300 trained surgeons who are giving their best to the patients as also acting as mentors to expanding pool of robotic trained surgeons.
Vattikuti Foundation is executing a comprehensive plan to grow the pool of trained Robotic Surgeons in India from the current to 500 by 2020. This will be achieved through Vattikuti Scholar and Vattikuti Fellowship programs.
Vattikuti Foundation began promoting Robotic Surgery in the US in 1997 and has since played a stellar role in spreading it across the USA, Europe and India. (Businesswire India)