Meet the doc who conducted India's first robot aided joint replacement surgery
New Delhi: Orthopedic surgeons led by Padmashree recipient Dr. Ashok Rajgopal at the Fortis Bone and Joint Institute, Gurugram, Haryana, conducted the first successful robot aided joint replacement surgery on a 61-year-old patient, who had been suffering from severe left knee pain for many years.
The surgery was executed using the NAVIO PFS surgical system, which is the latest robotic intervention in the field of joint replacement.
NAVIO enables the surgeon to fix only the damaged part of the knee to absolute perfection, saving all the other normal structures of the joint.
Robot-assisted surgery enables the surgeon to operate with enhanced precision, dexterity and control even during the most complex procedure. It ensures lesser bone removal, preserves natural anatomy and facilitates better post-operative outcomes for the patient.
The robot-assisted system eliminates the possibilities of human error and this leads to perfect alignment, leading to the longevity of the joint implant.
Doctors say that globally patients who have been treated using this technology are able to gain full movement, including sitting cross legged and squatting.
Dr. Ashok Rajgopal, Chairman, Fortis Bone and Joint Institute said, "Robot-assisted joint replacement surgery offers the patient a huge advantage of immediate recovery, same or next day discharge and minimal blood loss. It is extremely satisfying for the patients since it preserves all the natural structures of the joint. It is equally beneficial for the young people who intend to return to their active lifestyle sooner and elderly people who are at risk of undergoing a knee replacement."
Dr Simmardeep Singh Gill, Zonal Director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute said, "With advanced robotics entering the field of orthopedics, patients can now receive treatment in a manner similar to day-care surgeries. Fortis has always been at the helm of technology and a center of excellence in Orthopedics for patients from all across the world, which has always been a vision for us. With robot assisted joint replacement, we are driving this leadership ahead and ensuring that we are at par with the world because this technology has been launched in India immediately after the US and we are only the second country in the world to adopt it successfully!"
Expressing her happiness, the patient, a resident of Shealda in Kolkata said, "I have been living with this painful knee for close to five years since I was always fearful of surgery. Two months ago the pain became so unbearable that I had no other option but to look out for surgery. I was fearful since I had heard of long stays at hospitals and various post - operative infections associated in the elderly due to which I kept delaying treatment. However, I am glad that this opportunity came and I am going to make history by being the 1st in this part of the country to undergo a robot-assisted knee surgery and become pain free."
FMRI has established itself as a centre of excellence for robot-assisted surgeries in the fields of Urology, Oncology and Gynecology with the latest Da Vinci Robotic System that was introduced in the year 2015 and hundreds of patients have benefited from it in the past.
