Robotic surgery comes to Delhi

The institute — which will initially cover cardiac,urology and gynaecology surgeries — joins the US-based Vattikkuti Foundation with Naresh Trehan’s Medanta-The Medicity. It is the country’s first multi-specialty,multi-modality institute for robotic surgery.

Sibal also touched upon reducing costs by manufacturing hardware indigenously. “To be able to reduce costs we have to work at both ends. Unless we start manufacturing the hardware,that cannot happen. We have to give access to our industries to manufacture these things,” he said.

The institute aims to be a hub for robotic surgery in the Asia Pacific region. “Medanta has invested Rs 20 crore initially. We will be instituting a fellowship for doctors and training will be done with a simulator. The institute will also develop a large database on robotic surgery,” said Raj Vattikuti,Chairman of the Michigan-based Vattikuti Foundation.

The foundation is in talks with hospitals in Bangalore and Bombay to start similar institutes. Raj said Devi Shetty’s Narayana Hrudayalaya and the Asian Heart institute should have robotic surgery facilities by April 2011.

The use of robots in surgery helps in achieving greater accuracy,as the area where the surgery is being performed can be magnified 12 times. Robots will also assist in performing complex surgeries through tiny holes.