Guwahati: The northeast witnessed its first robotic cardiac surgeries at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), with three patients successfully undergoing procedures in the past two days.The cardiac surgeries were performed at at GMCH’s CN Centre as part of a two-day cardiac robotic surgery workshop under the supervision of Dr Ritwick Raj Bhuyan, Asia’s renowned cardiac surgeon. The procedures included a robotic bypass surgery, robotic heart valve replacement and surgery to correct an atrial septal defect (ASD), a congenital condition involving a hole in the heart.Health and family welfare minister Ashok Singhal, who witnessed the procesdures, said the initiative marked a significant step in bringing advanced cardiac care to the northeastern region. “In the northeast, no health institution has done robotic intervention for cardiac surgery before. And I feel proud that this is happening here in Guwahati. I am witness to this, and slowly, gradually we will try to take it to other departments also,” said Singhal. “Simply put, a robot has performed cardiac surgery,” he said.Praising Dr Bhuyan, Singhal said he felt proud as health minister and “doubly proud” as an MLA that a doctor from his constituency, Dhekiajuli, who studied in an Assamese-medium school and later at GMCH, had become a renowned doctor in Asia in this field of robotic surgery.“We want the knowledge and expertise that he (Dy Bhuyan) has acquired to be passed on to our upcoming generation of doctors through this system, so that they can also benefit from his experience and knowledge,” the minister said.Bhuyan, who heads the robotic department at Fortis Escorts Heart Hospital, said he had proposed a joint initiative with GMCH to the Assam health minister, with the programme beginning Friday as a training model. “Sep 25 and 26 are historic days and also marks a new milestone in the history of Assam’s healthcare sector,” said Dr Bhuyan.“As part of the programme and within its capacity, we performed a bypass operation robotically, and a heart valve replacement robotically. A third procedure is also underway. It is for a congenital condition called an atrial septal defect, in which there is a small hole inside the heart,” he said. The third surgery was also completed successfully later, doctors said.Bhuyan said such procedures are generally performed through open-heart surgery, while robotic surgery avoids opening the chest. “The operation is performed through a small incision. As a result, patients recover faster and can return home sooner,” he said, adding that the technology could be particularly beneficial for children and elderly patients.Assam director of medical education Dr Manoj Kumar Choudhury, GMCH principal Dr Babul Bezbaruah, GMCH medical superintendent Dr Devajit Choudhury and other doctors and healthcare workers attended the workshop.
