• The hands-on workshops have been organized at Sterling Hospital and Kaizen Hospital as a first step to familiarise surgeons and residents with the latest surgical technology
• Intuitive is planning to conduct such workshops across India as a part of their Roving- Robot programme

Intuitive India, the India arm of Intuitive Surgical, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), has joined hands with the city’s two prominent hospitals, Sterling and Kaizen, to build awareness about robotic-assisted surgery among the surgical fraternity in Gujarat. As a part of their roving robot programme, they conducted hands-on workshops on robotic surgery at these hospitals this week. Medical students and surgeons from medical colleges across Gujarat were a part of this programme.

Through this initiative, Intuitive aims to familiarize the medical fraternity with robotic-assisted surgery, its technology, clinical applications, safety and its benefits. Intuitive is planning to conduct such workshops across India as a part of their Roving- Robot programme.

Commenting on this initiative, Dr. Sanjiv Pravin Haribhakti, Chairman, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at Kaizen Hospital, Ahmedabad, said “We have seen an overwhelming response from the surgeons and residents to participate in this workshop, and more surgeons are keen on taking up such surgical advancements to provide state of the art facilities with adoption of more cost effective options. The workshop really helped surgeons and medical students to get familiar with advanced surgical technology like robotic-assisted surgery (RAS). We hope that this momentum will continue, and eventually, it will lead to the better adoption of RAS in Gujarat and Ahmedabad in particular.”

This workshop was formulated in a comprehensive manner to ensure extensive hands-on learning for the departments of surgery, gastrointestinal surgery and surgical oncology. The workshop was carried out on Intuitive’s latest da Vinci Xi technology.

Commenting on this, Mandeep Singh Kumar, VP and General Manager, Intuitive India, said, “The conduct of Robotic-Assisted Surgery education programs is a key step towards building awareness and enhancing knowledge related to its potential benefits. Such programs help nurture adoption of advanced surgical technologies and ensure that the benefits of robotic assisted surgery reach the largest number of patients. In this context, the Intuitive Roving Robot Program aims to support the evolution of Gujarat’s surgical healthcare landscape. With the same objective, we are continuously expanding the reach of such programs across the country.”

Commenting on the workshop, Dr. Kamlesh Patel, Director Urologist and transplant surgeon, Sterling Hospital- Ahmedabad, said “We are glad to be a part of this programme as it empowers the medical fraternity to keep up with the latest in surgical technology and help better our city’s healthcare infrastructure. As I use the da Vinci RAS system, I can clearly say that with the Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) technology, we are able to perform many types of complex surgical procedures with precision, flexibility, and good control. Potential patient benefits of robotic assisted surgery in many procedures may include decrease in length of hospital stay, decrease in blood loss, decrease in re-admission rates, decrease in complication rates and improvement in some functional outcomes.”