Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai announced the launch of its third da Vinci robotic surgical system, making it the first and only hospital in the country with three da Vinci robots. One of the first in the country to introduce robotic surgery with the da Vinci Robotic System in June 2012, the hospital has so far completed over 4500 robotic-assisted surgeries across specialities including adult and paediatric urology, gynaecology, ENT and bariatric surgery as well as in cancer surgeries for uro-oncology, gynaecological, head and neck, lung and oesophageal, and colorectal cancers.

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) has been at the forefront in bringing the cutting edge of medical technology to India and with the third advanced da Vinci Robotic surgical system, has cemented its position as a pioneer in robotic minimally invasive surgery. KDAH is also the first hospital in the country to achieve the significant milestone of completing over 2600 robotic surgeries for treating patients with prostate, kidney and urinary bladder cancer. With dedicated trained specialists in robotic surgery, KDAH has redefined the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery for patients and surgeons, addressing the limitations of conventional open surgery and resolving the shortcomings of traditional laparoscopic methods using the da Vinci robotic surgical platforms.

Dr Yuvaraja T.B, Head, Robotic Surgery and Consultant, Uro-Oncology, KDAH said, “Robotic surgery represents the next era of surgical innovation with many advantages over traditional open surgery. It makes difficult urological surgeries easier and safer for the patient with more precise surgery, less blood loss reducing the need for blood transfusions, less risk of infection, quicker recovery, and a shortened hospital stay.”

Today, robotic surgery is the method of choice in minimally invasive surgery and has replaced conventional laparoscopy and traditional open surgery in many fields. Robotic surgery has also proven to be highly beneficial to patients who cannot go in for open surgery due to various reasons and is commonly used for complex surgeries.

Robotic surgery is not an automated surgical system but is remote-controlled by a human surgeon. This makes it very safe as the surgeon is completely in control at all times. Using a minimally-invasive approach, robotic surgery is performed through small incisions as against conventional open surgery that requires big incisions. The da Vinci Robotic system offers extreme precision as compared to handheld tools, particularly in hard-to-access parts of the body with a computer providing a digital interface between the surgeon’s hands and the surgical instruments. This increases the surgeon’s hand and wrist flexibility permitting a wide range of fine movements while providing improved visualisation with a magnified hi-definition three-dimensional image.