A new world record has been established with the successful completion of a robot-assisted cardiac telesurgery across nearly 20,000 kilometres, making it the longest-distance robotic cardiac surgery ever performed remotely.

The historic procedure connected Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Guyana, with IRCAD India, Indore, where renowned robotic cardiac surgeon Dr. Sudhir Srivastava remotely performed a Left Internal Mammary Artery (LIMA) takedown using the India-developed SSI Mantra Surgical Robotic System.

The achievement surpasses the previous record of a robotic cardiac telesurgery performed between Strasbourg, France, and Indore, India, which covered a communication distance of approximately 10,000 kilometres and was also conducted using the SSI Mantra platform. 

To date, 22 cardiac telesurgeries have been successfully completed using SSI Mantra, making it the only robotic surgical system in the world used for remote cardiac telesurgery.

For the record-setting surgery, Dr. Srivastava operated remotely from Georgetown, Guyana, using the SSI MantrAsana tele-surgeon console, a compact, chair-based command system specifically designed to enable real-time remote surgical procedures. 

The patient-side robotic system was located at IRCAD India in Indore, where robotic arms and instruments precisely replicated the surgeon’s movements from nearly 20,000 kilometres away.

The Indian clinical team supporting the surgery included Dr. Lalit Malik, Chief Cardiac Surgeon, Manipal Hospitals Jaipur; Dr. Ram Shukla, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, Bhandari Hospital and Research Center; and Dr. Mohit Bhandari, Bariatric Surgeon and President, IRCAD India.

Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, said: "The world's longest-distance telesurgery showcases immense potential of technology to transcend geographical boundaries, while placing Guyana at the forefront of next-generation healthcare innovation."

Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, Chairman and CEO, SS Innovations International, said: "We continue to push the boundaries of telesurgery and move closer to democratizing access to world-class surgical expertise globally."

Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Health, Government of Guyana, said: "This collaboration represents an important step forward in strengthening Guyana’s healthcare capabilities and expanding access to advanced medical technologies."

H. E. Seeraj Dharamkumar, High Commissioner of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to India, added: "This achievement demonstrates the transformative potential of technology in overcoming geographical barriers and expanding access to specialized medical expertise."