New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) In a milestone for technology-enabled healthcare in India, a surgeon from Safdarjung Hospital has performed what is being described as the country’s first robotic urological telesurgery by a surgeon from a government institution operating on a patient located more than 1,600 km away.
Dr Anup Kumar, Professor and Head unit, Department of Urology, Robotics and Renal Transplant at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, performed a complex robotic Modified Lich-Gregoir ureteric reimplantation on a 32-year-old woman at Preeti Kidney and Urology Hospital in Hyderabad.
Dr Kumar performed the procedure remotely from Gurugram using an advanced surgical robotic system, while the patient was in Hyderabad.
Despite the distance of more than 1,600
km between the surgeon and the patient, the procedure was completed smoothly, demonstrating the potential of high-speed communication networks and robotic technology in enabling remote surgical intervention.
A medical team led by Dr Chandramohan Vaddi was present at the Hyderabad hospital to provide on-site support during the procedure.
The Modified Lich-Gregoir technique is a specialised procedure used for ureteric reimplantation, in which the ureter is reconnected to the urinary bladder.
The achievement is significant as it demonstrates how robotic surgery combined with advanced communication technology could help extend specialised surgical expertise to patients in locations where such expertise may not be readily available.
Dr Kumar, who has been involved in advancing robotic surgery and renal transplantation, said the development could open new possibilities for providing specialised surgical care across geographical boundaries.
The successful procedure also highlights the potential of telesurgery to reduce the need for patients to travel long distances to access highly specialised surgeons, while enabling local medical teams to provide on-ground support.
The development comes amid growing adoption of robotic and technology-assisted surgery in India and could have wider implications for healthcare delivery in remote and underserved areas.
The procedure marks another step towards decentralising specialised surgical care and using technology to bridge geographical barriers in access to advanced medical expertise, Dr Kumar said. PTI PLB KSS KSS
