CHENNAI: In a first-of-its-kind effort, a curriculum is being formulated, with the support of top brains globally, to home grow ‘robotic’ surgeons in India. A two-year training programme with eight modules will be available in the next seven months for Indian surgeons to get accredited and perform robot-assisted surgeries.
Currently, there is no standardised curriculum available globally in the emerging field of robotic surgeries, although a few select institutes run training programmes for resident surgeons. To fill this vacuum, a global collaboration is underway. A core group has been formed with pioneering robotic surgeons from University College London, Cleveland Clinic, Florida and Apollo Hospitals, Chennai among others.
“We are working with industrial partners to develop curriculum and identify faculty from India and abroad. The training programme will be in India and Apollo’s Institute of Colorectal Surgery, Chennai would be the probable centre. We are hoping to launch the programme during the third Apollo International Colorectal Symposium scheduled for next March,” Dr Manish Chand, consultant colorectal surgeon, UCL, told Express.
Dr Venkatesh Munikrishnan, consultant colorectal surgeon and clinical lead at the three-year-old Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery which has already performed over 200 robotic-assisted procedures, said the idea was to create a platform for surgeons to get trained in robotic surgery, which is safe and cost-effective, in India. “India has the expertise, case load and technology. So, it makes no sense to travel abroad to learn the techniques,” he said, adding a surgery done for USD 24,000 in US cost USD 7,000 at Apollo. P3