Apollo Hospitals Bangalore has become the first hospital in India to have completed 100 Robot-Assisted Cardiac Surgeries. This is a great milestone in the field of cardiovascular surgery in India.

The hospital also announced that the team had performed a Complex Mitral Valve surgery using robotic-assisted minimally invasive cardiac surgery with the da Vinci robotic system in under 70 minutes, a landmark achievement in interventional cardiology.

Cardiovascular diseases tend to affect patients in the most productive years of their lives result in catastrophic social and economic consequences. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have overtaken cancer as the leading cause of death in India. According to a study published in The Lancet Global Health, Indians now have one of the highest rates of mortality after a heart failure diagnosis, higher than people in several developing countries around the world.

Robotic cardiac surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that helps patients return to their everyday life much faster than open-heart surgeries. Surgeons use the da Vinci Surgical System to operate through 8 mm holes called ports and a magnified 3D high-definition vision as well as tiny wristed instruments that bend and rotate much more than the human hand aid in surgery. As a result, surgeons have better vision, precision, and control. Other benefits include decreased pain, fewer postoperative wound infections, less post-operative scarring, and improved breathing. Recovery is rapid, with lesser hospitalization, faster mobilization, and rehabilitation. Reducing the chance of infection makes it an ideal procedure for people with diabetes and older patients.

Dr. Sathyaki P Nambala, Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon and Head of the Department, Robotic Cardiac Surgery Unit, leads the Robot-Assisted Cardiac Surgery Unit.

Congratulations to the team on achieving such a medical feat!!

Priyanka Dutta