Hyderabad: Doctors at Nizam's Institute Of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here have achieved the rare feat of performing up to 300 robotic-assisted surgeries (RAS) within a year of installing Da Vinci surgical robots.
These services are provided free of charge to poor patients covered under the Arogyashri government scheme and at a low cost to other patients. Previously limited to only a few private hospitals, these robotic services were launched in NIMS in August last year at a cost of around Rs 30 crore. As the cost of these is high compared to the cost of regular surgeries, they were not accessible to all. At NIMS, however, most of the services are provided to the poor.
Dr N. Bheerappa Nagari, Director NIMS said 20 doctors have received training in robotic treatments. “As the technology has helped us to reduce the post-operative hospital stay, doctors are able to attend more cases every day. This has also resulted in reduced waiting periods for surgeries, from months to few days," he said.
Dr Rahul Devaraj, professor of the urology department and coordinator of robotic surgery, said robotic surgeries cost 40 percent less at NIMS as compared to the original cost of treatment for patients who are not eligible for Arogyashri.
Available Services
- Surgical Gastroenterology: Gallbladder, Pancreas, Liver, Intestines, Esophagus, Cancer and Other Tumors
- Urology: Bladder, Prostate, Kidney, Tubal Blockages, Hernia, Adrenal Cancer, Partial Nephrectomy, Radical Nephrectomy
- Surgical Oncology: Treatment of uterine, ovarian, and colon cancers, gastrectomy, pancreatectomy, hemicolectomy, etc.
Benefits Of Robotic Treatments
- The robot performs the surgery with the doctor's instructions.
- There is no major incision on the body so blood loss is not excessive.
- The robot arms reach the body parts through a keyhole. They are equipped with powerful cameras. The doctor operates the robot by looking at the computer. Even the blood vessels which are invisible to the eye can be seen 20 times bigger. This can be done with a robot without damaging them.
- If the cancerous cells are not completely removed in general surgery, there is a risk of re-infection. Tissues are visualized in high resolution in robotic surgery. This allows the doctor to remove them completely.
