PUDUCHERRY: Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), a central government hospital in South India, has performed over 1,350 robot-assisted surgeries (RAS) within a span of five years.
"More than 90% of our patients belong to lower-income group, and we are grateful that we could treat them and perform robotic surgeries," said medical superintendent Dr LN Dorairajan. Around 70% of patients who had undergone the surgery are from Tamil Nadu, 20% are from Puducherry, and the remaining from other states, he added. Being a central government hospital equipped to treat critical cases, JIPMER gets referrals from all cities.
The hospital installed RAS technology, Da Vinci by Intuitive Surgical, in 2017. Dr Bibekanand Jindal, head of paediatric surgery and officer-in-charge of the multi-disciplinary robotic assisted minimal access surgery unit of JIPMER, told TNIE, "Major departments undertaking the procedure are gastroenterology, oncology, urology and paediatric surgery. More than 250 robotic surgeries were performed on infants and children aged between two months and 15 years."
There is only one RAS unit at JIPMER and around 17 skilled surgeons provide quality treatment to alleviate complexities associated with prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, ureteric reimplantation, pyeloplasty, choledochal cyst excision and reconstruction in children. For adults, pancreaticoduodenectomy and liver resection, complex biliary procedures, low anterior resection for rectal cancer and thoracic surgeries for lung cancer are performed.
While the cost of RAS at corporate hospitals ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, JIPMER does it free of cost for people living below the poverty line. For others, a nominal cost of Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 is charged, Dr Jindal said. “With the advent of cutting-edge technology, it is imperative to make the benefits available to all sections of patients," said Dr Dorairajan.