Puducherry, July 29
For the first time in India, a robot will perform complicated surgeries on human beings, which need high level of precision and expertise.

Puducherry director of medical services Dilip Kumar Baliga said: “The Department of Health and Family Welfare proposes to acquire a robot for Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital, Puducherry for performing complicated surgeries.”

The robot will cost between Rs 3.5-4.5 crore and will be equipped with arms to hold miniature camera and surgical instruments.

Surgeons in here are eagerly waiting for the robot, which they will use to perform the most complicated surgeries like beating heart surgeries.

Baliga said: “Surgeons usually insert their hands into a cavity through small incisions and watch its movements through three-dimensional images magnified about 30 times at the monitor or screen. With the help of the robot, they can make micro movements, locate the smallest blood vessels easily and perform the surgery with minimal efforts.”

He explained that it would give surgeons a clear, stable and easily-controlled view of the surgical organs and robots were highly useful as their arms could be rotated 360 degrees enabling flexible movement of surgical devices.

Before the robot arrives, a special laboratory, costing around Rs 4.62 crore, would be established and the hospital staff would undergo intensive training on effective handling of the sophisticated instruments and surgeons would be trained to use the robot.

He said: “Operating robots are the latest in the surgery discipline and ours will be the first government hospital in the country to use robot for performing surgeries.”