Robotic surgeries no more science fiction

“Though robotic surgeries have been practiced in the west at a few centers for the past decade, it is only in the last couple of years that their role is being established in cancer surgery,” says  Dr. Umanath Nayak, consultant head and neck and robotic surgeon at India’s Apollo Cancer Hospitals, based in Hyderabad.Surgeons there […]

“Though robotic surgeries have been practiced in the west at a few centers for the past decade, it is only in the last couple of years that their role is being established in cancer surgery,” says  Dr. Umanath Nayak, consultant head and neck and robotic surgeon at India’s Apollo Cancer Hospitals, based in Hyderabad.
Surgeons there last year successfully did 10 robotic surgeries to remove inflamed thyroids, and they expect this technique might be a boon for young patients suffering bening and malignant diseases of the thyroid gland who may wish to have surgeries without getting scars on their neck.
The hospital is looking to partner Nigerian teaching hospitals to train local doctors and transfer modern surgical skills.
“At present, a handful of centers in India are practicing this art and its scope and popularity can only be expected to rise as awareness increases.
Robotic surgeries are done using the arms of a robot, controlled by a computer console which the surgeon operates using hand and foot controls – somewhat like a video-game, but a thousand times more precise and sophisticated, he explains.
Robot arms can move more flexibly than a human arm—in different directions and at multiple angles (270 degrees) – something that the human wrist cannot and therefore can dissect, suture and divide tissues with a precision that even the most dexterous surgeon cannot.
An endoscopic camera provides a 3-D magnified view of the surgical field when viewed through the console; making structures like nerves, blood vessels much larger and therefore more easily visible enabling faster surgery with more precision.
Robotic surgeries have been used in difficult cancer situations, but it has been mainly applied in head and neck, urologic, gynecological and colo-rectal surgery.
“Many other indications are still evolving as the superiority of this technique over open and laparoscopic surgery is being established,” says Dr Nayak.
“With time, robotic onco-surgery is expected to replace other conventional methods of cancer surgery and can be a real boon to patients suffering from cancer and many other related disorders.  There may come a day in the near future when a surgeon sitting in the convenience of his office may be able operate on a patient at a distant location with the help of the robotic system!”