THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the robotic surgery unit, HIPEC treatment system, patient welfare and service block, and clinical laboratory tracking system at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram. “The robotic surgery facility is an important step in the direction of cancer treatment. The new unit will increase the efficiency of the RCC,” said Pinarayi.
“Currently, robotic surgery is available only in a few places in the country and abroad. Hence, the facility at RCC is a matter of pride for the entire state,” he added. He also announced that a similar facility will be set up at Malabar Cancer Centre soon.
The robotic surgery unit was set up for Rs 30 crore. Robotic surgery is performed with the help of a surgical robot. Its features include reducing patient pain, reducing bleeding during surgery, and reducing recovery time after surgery. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) or hot chemotherapy allows chemotherapy to be given to the cancerous body area during surgery. This innovative treatment system has been set up at RCC at Rs 1.32 crore.
The newly opened Patient Welfare and Service Block was built at a cost of Rs 1.65 crore, which includes the Rs 65-lakh CSR fund of the Indian Oil Corporation.
The modernized clinical laboratory tracking system is an automated system for performing and monitoring clinical laboratory tests.
It was built for Rs 1 crore. The government has allocated funds for the facilities through the Rebuild Kerala Initiative. Health Minister Veena George, who presided over the function, said that the department would initiate steps to make cancer drugs cheaper and to start an awareness campaign on breast cancer.
Mayor Arya Rajendran, MLA Kadakampally Surendran, Councillor D R Anil, RCC director Dr Rekha A Nair, and additional director Dr A Sajeed also attended the event.