• The conference, organized at Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital, Nadiad was attended by experts of Urology from across the country
• This conference named RUFCON’22 was the 4th annual conference by Robotic Urology Forum

Robotic Urology Forum, a national organization of surgeons practicing the art of robotic urological surgeries, has joined hands with Intuitive Surgical, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), to conduct their 4th annual conference. The three day long conference named as RUFCON’22 was aimed at familiarizing surgeons, nurses and other healthcare professionals with the clinical application of latest techniques in the treatment of urological disorders. The conference, organized at Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital, Nadiad was attended by experts of Urology from across the country.

The organising committee had formulated comprehensive sessions to ensure extensive knowledge sharing experience for the attendees. Apart from comprehensive sessions on the evolution of robotic-assisted surgery in India, there were detailed sessions on the application of RAS in uro-oncology, reconstructive urology, kidney transplant, pediatric urology and female urology. Another motive of the conference was to establish the guidelines for best ways to manage urological cancers in this rapidly evolving treatment landscape to make sure that patients receive ideal care.
Commenting on this joint effort, Dr Arvind Ganpule, the organizing secretary of RUFCON’22 and Chief, Division of laproscopy and robotic surgery, Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital said, “I wholeheartedly thank Intuitive India for supporting this initiative, and I appreciate all the doctors who were a part of this conference. We are glad to see a drastic increase in the number of healthcare professionals attending the conference year by year. This year we had around 150 uro-surgeons to share their knowledge to others. We also demonstrated 10 live surgeries from MPUH Nadiad and HCG Hospital Ahmedabad by using Da Vinci RAS system during the conference. This includes very unique and exclusive procedures such as pediatric pyeloplasty (remove urinary tract blockage in children), retzius sparing radical prostatectomy and retroperitoneal NSS and superselective robotic NSS. In order to enlighten the audiences with their knowledge and skills, we were indeed honoured to host two international robotic surgeons of repute namely Dr Mihir M Desai from Los Angeles, United states and Dr Omer Karim from the United Kingdom.”

The programme was an interesting mix of ‘state of the art’ talks from legends in robotic urology. It also had academically stimulating panel discussion on topics such as medical insurance in robotic surgery, complications in robotic surgery and intense discussions on robotic renal transplant, which is an upcoming topic.

Commenting on RAS in urology, Dr. Sudhir Kumar Rawal, The chairman of robotic urology forum and a cancer expert from Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital, said, “Robotic surgery is increasing by leaps and bounds in India with 95+ robotic installations presently. But, this is not enough to provide RAS access to all eligible patients in India. Hence, we need to enhance the installation of advanced RAS systems in a timely manner. Another important aspect we need to focus on is to train more surgeons to use RAS systems.”

“Currently, robotic-assisted surgery is extensively performed for almost all urologic procedures. At RUFCON’22 we had detailed discussions on the enhanced scope for application of RAS in more clinical areas. I am sure this conference will help the healthcare professionals to sensitize their patients about RAS in a better way,” Dr. Rawal added.

Commenting on this conference, Dr. Yuvaraja TB, the secretory of robotic urology forum and the Head – Robotic Surgery and Consultant for Surgical Oncology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital said that “The old Halsteadian principle of “See one, do one and teach one” holds true even for Robotic surgery. It is always taught to young aspiring surgeons that the best way of learning any surgery is to teach one or see an expert performing a procedure. This concept remains the soul of RUFCON 2022. As the new medical and surgical technologies have the potential to improve patient outcomes, we always work towards enhancing the adoption of latest technologies. These kind of conferences will really enhance the adoption of new surgical technologies like robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) in India.”

Commenting on the advantages of robotic-assisted surgery, Dr. Yuvaraja added that, “Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) can provide surgeons with the ability to perform some complex major surgical procedures with improved precision, flexibility and control. These benefits go a long way in enabling the surgeon and care teams in providing life-enhancing care for their patients. Some of the patient benefits of RAS include lesser pain, less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, and even minimal post-operative complications in certain cases.”
Robotic Urology Forum (RUF) is the first Indian robotic society with 150+ leading uro-oncologist members. The last three editions of RUFCON were held at Mumbai, Kochi and Chandigarh.