The aim of the Urology week is to raise awareness of the importance of urological care and its relation to improving the quality of life.
Today, many complex urological surgeries can be conducted successfully with the help of robots. The surgeon community has embraced robotics in the field of surgery and have found several reasons to shift from traditional to robotic-assisted surgeries.
Dr. Mohan Keshavamurthy, Director Urology, Uro-Oncology, Andrology, Transplant & Robotic Surgery at Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore in a conversation with HealthWire, talks about robotic-assisted surgeries in urology, and how it is beneficial for both surgeons and patients.
According to Dr. Mohan Keshavamurthy, “Robotic-assisted surgery has proved to be beneficial in many complex cases. With increasing cases of diabetes in the Indian community, there is a spike in patients having kidney diseases. Many patients are affected by kidney cancer. It is essential that you spare as much of kidney as possible while doing surgery.”
He further explained that in a alcoholic patient having having liver damaged up to 90%, there is a chance that the liver does grow back to almost near normal over the next 12 months if one gives up alcohol.
“However, the kidney cannot grow back in each cell and can only work more but can’t create a new cell. If a patient is diagnosed with kidney cancer, it is essential to remove only cancer and a millimeter- two-millimeter margin of healthy tissue, and leave as much of the kidney as possible because one and a half kidney is better than one kidney,” he added.
Here comes the ability of the robot to leave as much of the kidney intact as possible. Robotic tools, technologies, and techniques can now enable a surgical operation to be performed with a better visualization. Earlier, surgeries involved a large team of doctors who had to operate for long hours, and had to use hundreds of instruments for the completion of one surgery.
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Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) can provide them with the ability to perform many types of complex surgical procedures with precision and flexibility. Improved visualization helps in the preservation of nerves and other critical structures. This is particularly important for complex gynecologic, rectal, and prostate cancer surgeries.
Robotic-assisted surgery has proved to be beneficial in many complex cases, where a minimally invasive approach is required, providing exceptional functional outcomes to the patient.
The procedure has several short- term benefits for the patient. It requires smaller and fewer incisions which cause less pain, less tissue damage, reduced risk of infection, reduced dependence on medicines, and early rehabilitation to life post-surgery.
In the case of robotics, the surgeons are equipped with advanced technology enabling them to view the anatomy in 3D, thus making it possible for them to perform minimally invasive procedures with enhanced precision and dexterity.
Robot indeed seems to be a revolutionary weapon in the fight against the disease as it enables a surgical operation to be performed with a better visualization.
