Two gynaecological robotic surgeries, conducted at a hospital in Howrah on Sunday, were live-streamed and watched by over 800 doctors.
The surgeries were done at Narayana Superspeciality Hospital in Howrah.
A surgeon, who was part of the team that conducted the operations, said the live-streaming was done to raise awareness among doctors about the advantages of robotic surgeries over conventional laparoscopic or microsurgeries. “There were 86 doctors who watched the surgeries sitting at a hotel in Dalhousie in Kolkata. Besides, about 800 doctors watched the surgeries online. They included doctors from other states of India as well as from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh,” said Kaustav Basu, consultant, gynaecology oncology and robotic surgery, at Nayarana Superspeciality Hospital.
A 50-year-old woman underwent the removal of a uterine tumour and a 30-year-old woman underwent an ovarian cyst removal. Basu explained that in a robotic surgery, a camera is inserted through a hole.
A surgeon sitting in a surgeon’s console can see the images being taken by the camera. There is a joystick that is under the surgeon’s control. The robot inserts equipment required for the surgery through other holes.
“The surgeon moves the joystick while looking at the images. The equipment held by the robot’s arms makes the same movement inside the abdomen and perform the surgery,” said Basu. Patients are usually discharged a day after the procedure.