Salem doctor performs telesurgery on patient at Chennai Hospital

Salem: South India witnessed its first telesurgery on Friday, performed as part of the Annual Conference of the Association of Surgeons of India – Tamil Nadu Chapter (ASI-TN) in Salem.

Dr. Parimuthukumar successfully performed a hernia surgery using advanced robotic-assisted technology, operating remotely from a private hospital in Salem while the patient was situated nearly 350 kilometres away in Chennai.

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In a release, the ASI-TN chairman, P. Sundarraj, said this was the first telesurgery of its kind in South India. The 45-year-old patient was diagnosed with a hernia. The surgical procedure, which lasted for one and a half hours, was performed using advanced robotic-assisted technology. Dr. Parimuthukumar operated remotely, and a skilled team of supporting surgeons and technical experts in Chennai ensured a smooth and safe surgical process, he said, reports the Hindu.

Dr. Parimuthukumar, who travelled from Chennai's Prashanth Hospital to Salem and operated the console from Dharan Hospital, mentioned that the aim was to prove that telesurgeries are possible when adequate infrastructure is available.

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According to TOI, in robotic surgeries, doctors don't peer over patients. We operate from a console, watching the monitor. We know robots help doctors perfect surgeries, improve outcomes, and help patients recover faster," said Prashanth Hospital director Prashanth Krishna. With better telecommunications, doctors can use robotic surgical tools to operate remotely on soldiers on battlefields or even astronauts in space, he said. "Most cities in India have a stable and low-latency network. We wanted to convince doctors that we can bridge the urban-rural gap in access to care. Patients from anywhere can access top surgeons without having to travel," he said.

For this to become widespread, hospitals must invest in robotic surgical systems and robust internet infrastructure to ensure there is no lag between a surgeon’s hand movements and the robot’s response.

Doctors reported that the 1.5-hour hernia surgery conducted on Friday was uneventful. Surgeons trained in robotic procedures were kept on standby at the Chennai hospital in case of any complications. However, Dharan Hospitals' MD, Dr. V. Selvaraj, stated that there was no noticeable lag and the surgery proceeded smoothly. Doctors also mentioned that the patient is expected to be discharged soon.