Aster Medcity became the first hospital in Kerala to successfully conduct more than 60 robotic surgeries in a short span of 6 months. Also, Aster Medcity is the first hospital in Kerala to have a robotic surgery unit and a specialized Minimal Access Robotic Surgery (MARS) team.
The doctors from Aster Medcity’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) conducted robotic surgeries for a wide spectrum of cases namely, urology, gastroenterology, gynecology & obstetrics and oncology. The specialized MARS team at Aster Medcity comprises consultants of these departments that include Dr Kishore TA and Dr Ramprasad (urology), Dr Mayadevi Kurup, Dr Shameema Anvarsadath and Dr Sherlyn Mathen (gyneacology and obstetrics), Dr Syam Vikram (oncology) Dr V A Iyoob and Dr Prasad Krishnan (gastroenterology).
Dr Harish Pillai, chief executive officer, Aster Medcity, says “We believe in getting and adapting the latest state-of-the-art technology for our patients. Having the special minimal access robotic surgery team in place was one such step for providing cutting-edge technology to our patients in Kerala. Performing such a large number of these beneficial surgeries in such a short span of time has led to better surgical outcomes and eased patient discomfort, and we aim to continue the good steps.”
Dr Kishore T A, senior consultant–urology, Aster Medcity, says “Robotic surgery is the most technologically advanced and minimally invasive approach to complex surgical procedures available today. We are one of the few medical centers in the country – and the first in Kerala – to use the state-of-the-art High Definition da Vinci-S Surgical System to perform robotic urologic surgery. Before the advent of surgical robots, urologic surgeons performed these procedures through large abdominal incisions or using less versatile and mobile laparoscopic instruments. These surgeries improve patient comfort and care drastically. We are glad to have conducted so many procedures for the benefit of patients over such a short period of time.”
Dr Iyoob Ali, senior consultant – surgical gastroenterologist, Aster Medcity, said, “The expert team – MARS – at Aster Medcity can provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for patients suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. We received some interesting cases over the last 6 months and were glad to be able to provide the latest surgical option to them. Patients are getting the skilled care they need and we aim to continue supporting patients through this advance technique.”
Dr Mayadevi Kurup, senior consultant & lead - Aster women’s health and her team performed the robot-assisted gynecologic surgeries during this span of 6 months. Commenting on the experience, she said, “Robotic surgery is being increasingly preferred to open surgery or laparoscopic surgery for most gynecology related operations including benign ovarian tumor, complex hysterectomy, fibroids in the uterus, lymph node dissection for uterine cancer& cervical cancer and severe endometriosis.”
Dr Syam Vikram, consultant & surgical oncologist, CoE - oncology and his team conducted the first colo-rectal surgery (large intestinal surgery) in Kerala and became the third surgical oncology department in South India to perform robotic surgery in oncology.
Robotic surgery is conducted using the da Vinci Surgical System, a state-of-the-art telesurgical, master-slave robotic system which replicates the surgeon’s exact movements on the master controls onto robotic instruments in the patient using their EndoWrist technology. Instead of using the surgery instruments by hand, robotic arms are used which are controlled by efficient surgeons with the help of advanced computers. Robotic surgery has opened up new avenues in the near future in surgical practice.