MUMBAI: Andheri resident 64-year-old S Rahul (name changed) underwent surgery for his prostate cancer last week with a near-total cure probability, but the procedure came with an unusual twist: the lead surgeon was not in the operating theatre, nor the hospital, or even in the country.
The operation was performed remotely by onco-urologist Dr T B Yuvaraja, who was in Shanghai, around 8,000 km away.The surgery was performed by robotic arms that were controlled by the surgeon through an internet-enabled console. “I could sit with the console in my consulting room and operate on the patient in the OT,” said Dr Yuvaraja, who is attached to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, Andheri.A day before the Shanghai-Mumbai operation, doctors from HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Girgaon, performed a remote robotic procedure at a community medical centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, on December 23. Dr Tarang Gianchandani of HN Reliance Foundation Hospital said, “For decades, specialised surgical care remained concentrated in a few urban centres, leaving millions without timely access to treatment.” Tele-robotic surgery, she said, is reimagining how complex surgical care is delivered across India, “powered by indigenous innovation, advanced robotics, and secure digital infrastructure”.Telerobotic surgery could improve access to surgery. Studies estimated that around 5 billion people across the globe lack access to safe, affordable surgical care. While telerobotic surgery started in India last year, less than 200 surgeries were done so far. SS Innovations International Inc, which developed India’s first indigenous surgical robotic system, SSII Mantra, last week announced the completion of 100 robotic telesurgeries.However, concerns about costs, legal issues, and cyber security remain. The use of a robotic arm adds between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh to a surgery, but doctors believe that telerobotic surgery could work out cheaper for families. “If I operate from Mumbai on a patient admitted to our hospital in Indore, the patient and his family members don’t need to travel here. Overall, the expenditure would be lower,” said Dr Yuvaraja, adding that telesurgery would make teaching and learning surgery easier.The first robotic arms in the market did not have the option for telesurgery, but newer models do. “They also have artificial intelligence integrated to help make the surgery more precise,” said Dr Yuvaraja, who discharged Rahul on the 3rd day after surgery.
