Robotic Surgery

INTRODUCTION

Sushruta, in his Sushruta Samhita, has said, “A great surgeon is one who possesses courage and presence of mind, a hand free from perspiration, tremor less grip of sharp and good instruments and who carries his operations to the success and advantage of his patient who has entrusted his life to the surgeon.”

[1] The age-old teachings of Sushruta still hold true albeit for the fact that the hands of the surgeon are slowly being replaced by the tremor less grip of the robotic arms.

[2] India got its first urologic robotic installation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in 2006. The following decade saw an unprecedented growth of robotic surgery in India. There are currently 66 centers and 71 robotic installations as on July 2019, with more than 500 trained robotic surgeons in our country. More than 12,800 surgeries have been performed with robotic assistance in these 12 years.

[3] The healthcare sector has become one of the India's largest sectors, with healthcare market likely to have threefold jump by 2022, driven by the growing incidence of lifestyle diseases and rising demand for affordable healthcare delivery systems.

[4] The growing economy and the rapidly expanding healthcare sector have resulted in decentralization of institutions and are expected to bring in more hospitals offering robotic surgeries, resulting in a decline in the cost of the treatment.

[5] Moreover, the da Vinci Basic Surgical Skills Training Center has been started in India to provide additional training opportunities.

Robotic Surgery

Robotic or Robot-assisted surgery integrates advanced computer technology with the experience of the skilled surgeons. This technology provides the surgeon with a 10x magnified, high-definition, 3D-image of the body’s intricate anatomy.

The surgeon uses controls in the console to manipulate special surgical instruments that are smaller, as well as more flexible and manoeuvrable than the human hand. The robot replicates the surgeon’s hand movements, while minimizing hand tremors. The surgeon thus can operate with enhanced precision, dexterity and control even during the most complex procedures.