Saifee Hospital, a state-of-the-art 250 plus bedded hospital became the first hospital to perform a robotically assisted bypass surgery in Western India. This first of its kind surgery was performed by Dr. Aliasgar Behrenwala, Head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and was assisted by Dr. Imran Hamzawala, Consultant- Laparoscopic & Robotic Gynecology Surgeon at Saifee Hospital. The surgery lasted for almost eight hours where the doctors performed the surgery via the minimal access route which was robotically assisted.

Robotic bypass surgery is designed at making endoscopic heart operations feasible. The da Vinci Si Surgical System enables a skilled robotic surgeon to provide patients with superior minimally invasive surgical options. The endowrist movement ability and full HD 3D vision of instruments, assists the surgeon in performing complex operations with greater dexterity and precision via the minimal access route. At the first instance, an endoscope is delivered through a small incision in the chest wall, and two robotic surgical instruments are passed through additional tiny incisions. The surgeon can then control the robotic surgical instruments using a surgeon’s console. It is important to note that the surgeon is 100% in control of the robot at all times.

“A surgery of this stature that uses robotically-assisted instruments requires special training for the surgeons and the robotic staff involved. Also the infrastructure needed to carry out this procedure which includes a dedicated robotic theatre is readily provided at Saifee Hospital. Most surgeons, who have undergone extensive robotic training, tend to feel at ease, guiding surgical instruments via a robotic surgeon’s console. Given the amount of man hours put in, robotic surgeons feel at ease using the da Vinci Si system at Saifee Hospital. A big advantage of such a surgery is that the incisions that are made are tiny, and therefore recovery from surgery is extremely quick with significantly reduced blood loss and post-operative pain. Rapid recovery from cardiac surgery is not only better for the patient, but it is less expensive for the society,” said Dr. Aliasgar, Head of the Department at Saifee Hospital.

“It’s clearly evident that the healthcare sector in India is evolving at a rapid pace and the response for such robotic surgeries in India is very positive. Such surgeries are not only cost effective for patients but also because the recovery time is drastically reduced, they are able to get back to their daily lives a lot quicker. This has become a win-win situation for our patients,” said Dr. Imran Hamzawala, Consultant-Laproscopic and Robotic Gynecologist at Saifee Hospital.

A team of eight doctors and nurses were a part of this unique surgery.