kolkata RG Kar first govt hospital to conduct robotic surgery

Tuesday Jul 11, 2023

On Saturday, a robotic knee replacement procedure was performed on a 72-year-old man at the publicly funded RG Kar Medical College Hospital (RGKMCH). This was Bengal's first robotic operation performed in a public hospital. The elderly patient is making a good recovery, and doctors intend to release him on Monday.

kolkata: A 72-year-old man underwent a robotic knee replacement surgery at the state-run RG Kar Medical College Hospital (RGKMCH) on Saturday. This was the first robotic surgery done at a government hospital in Bengal. The septuagenarian is recuperating well and doctors are planning to discharge him on Monday.The patient, Ranjit Singh from Hasnabad in North 24 Parganas, has been treated at RG Kar Hospital for his knee problem for some time. When the medical college got the opportunity to hold a workshop on robotic surgery, doctors decided to utilise the facility to conduct the procedure on the patient.

“With the help of robotics, the accuracy in the area of surgery is perfect where the exact angle can be targeted. The hand of the robotics can work through a small incision and the computer-assisted navigation programme helps in fetching accurate results,” said orthopaedics professor, Sandip Ghosh principal RGKMCH.

A team of seven orthopaedic surgeons took part in the procedure. The surgery lasted for about two hours. Since the incision was minimal the blood loss was minimal ensuring that the patient did not need any blood transfusion.

“The smaller size of the incision ensures faster recovery and the accuracy of the robotic arms ensures accuracy of the implant,” said senior resident Raja Saha of the orthopaedic department.

Healthworld.com