Posted on 10/07/2006 12:31:59 PM PDT by Dark Skies
India's first robot-assisted heart valve replacement surgery was conducted at a hospital here, doctors said Saturday.
A 23-year-old male patient, who was diagnosed with mitral stenosis and severe mitral regurgitation (tight and leaky valve) and severe enlargement of the left atrium, is recovering fast after the robotically assisted valve replacement Sep 29, they said.
R. Ravi Kumar, a cardiothoracic surgeon, told a news conference that the Care Hospital had achieved the distinction of being the first in India to perform this robot-aided procedure.
'While robotic surgeries have been done for the ASD ('hole in heart') closure and mitral valve repair in the recent past in India, this is the first time that the valve had been replaced with robotic aid,' said Ravi Kumar, who recently returned from the US, where he got training for the surgery.
The mitral valve, lying between the left atrium and left ventricle, allows blood to flow from the former into the latter and then prevents the back flow of blood into the left atrium during ventricular contraction.
The Care Hospital procured the robot for $1.2 million from an American firm. Under Ravi Kumar, the hospital plans to train doctors both from India and abroad in robotic surgeries.
The robotically assisted surgeries are being preferred over traditional surgeries for their minimal incision, excellent visualisation and three dimensional magnification, great precision on the part of the surgeon, less chance of infection, less blood transfusion and shorter period of hospitalisation.
While traditional open-heart surgeries are performed by cutting through the sternum or breast bone, robotically assisted mitral valve replacement or repair is done through a small incision on the right side of the chest.
Three more patients were operated upon at the hospital with the assistance of robot since Sep 29 for ASD closure.
'Under robotically assisted surgeries, it is the surgeon who makes every move. It is nothing but an extension of arm of the surgeon,' said Ravi Kumar.
The robotically assisted surgeries are being preferred over traditional surgeries for their minimal incision, excellent visualisation and three dimensional magnification, great precision on the part of the surgeon, less chance of infection, less blood transfusion and shorter period of hospitalisation.While traditional open-heart surgeries are performed by cutting through the sternum or breast bone, robotically assisted mitral valve replacement or repair is done through a small incision on the right side of the chest.
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