August 21,2024
Bengaluru: At 98, Hanumantha Raya, an ayurveda medicine manufacturer in the city, had never imagined that his spine surgery would involve a robot. Having witnessed the evolution of medicine over nearly a century, Hanumantha thought he’d seen it all – until now.
Though age is often seen as a barrier to surgical interventions for the elderly, Hanumantha decided to give the robot a try to regain his quality of life, which was badly hit by his relentless backache.
He went ahead with the surgery, only to be surprised by the results. A week post operation, Hanumantha has started to walk. “To live a happy life, you need to have good health. This thought gave me confidence to go ahead with robotic surgery, which has changed my life. Age no longer dictates us to pain and discomfort,” said Hanumantha.
Her husband’s newfound resilience encouraged Gangamma, 95, who too was affected by a never-ending back pain because of a fall, to give robotic surgery a try. “Pain medications never really worked and the discomfort persisted, affecting my ability to enjoy daily life. I was motivated by my husband’s experience and consulted the doctor,” said Gangamma. Recovering faster than her husband, Gangamma too was able to walk pain-free after an hour of robotic surgery.
Talking about their experience with robotic surgery at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road, Tuesday, the couple stated, “Not only do we do our daily chores independently, we also do them pain-free. The back pain no longer disrupts our life.”
Hanumantha, who underwent the robotic surgery in Sept 2023, continues to oversee his business, while his wife, who got the procedure done three months later, runs the household. They live in Kamakshipalya, Basaveshwaranagar, west Bengaluru.
Dr S Vidyadhara, chairman & HOD, spine surgery & consultant, robotic spine surgery, Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road, explained, “Our own research showed robotic surgeries were 99.8 per cent accurate in fixing 3,500 screws that we have placed in various areas of the spine. We found that robotic surgery reduced blood loss by 40 per cent , and surgery time by 30 per cent .”
“An ambulant patient would be able to walk within 4 hours, compared to 24 hours in the case of conventional surgery. Getting back to work used to take three months, but now, we can have patients get back to work in three to four weeks. The incidence of pain post surgery has been reduced by half. Complex surgeries can be simplified and help a lot of patients who live with pain as their last option,” he added.
Source: Healthworld