Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Friday claimed to have performed the country's first robotic surgery for prostate cancer.
"The robotic surgery was performed on a 62-year-old man," Dr A K Hemal, professor, Department of Urology at AIIMS, who carried out the surgical procedure, told media persons in Delhi.
"It took two hours and 10 minutes with only about 50 cc blood loss," he said.
While in western countries, 90 percent of prostate cancer cases are detected in the early stage, in India, 90 percent cases are diagnosed in the later stage, claimed Hemal.
Robotic surgery is superior to other forms of surgeries to remove prostate cancer, as it reduces blood loss. As a surgeon can see all the nerves and operate precisely, complications, such as leakage of urine, sexual dysfunction and pain are also reduced, Hemal explained.
Robotic surgery is the most advanced form of laparoscopic surgery wherein a robot is used to manipulate the surgical instruments while the surgeon controls the robot's movements.
The use of a robot for surgery marks a new era in the management of this disease in the country, he said.
Hemal has been instrumental in the initiation of robotic surgery programmes at various centres in Asia, UK, and the US.
