KARACHI: Caretaker Chief Minister Maqbool Baqar was on Tuesday informed that robot-assisted procedures had been a leading innovation in the field of surgery, making it useful to perform precise and delicate operations under the command of a surgeon.

“Robotic arms can easily access small spaces within a human body that cannot be seen or accessed by a surgeon,” Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) head Dr Adib Rizvi informed the caretaker CM who visited the health facility and witnessed a robotic procedure at the Robotic Surgery Theater.

According to a statement issued by the CM House, Justice Baqar asked several questions about the advantages of robotic surgery and the costs associated with disposables. He was shown the advantages of robotic surgery over conventional laparoscopic surgery, particularly in the treatment of cancer patients.

Later, he was led to a presentation on robotic surgery.

Dr Adib Rizvi informed the CM that the SIUT initiated robotic surgeries in 2017 by sharing a robotic system at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi. He added that almost 700 cases were successfully performed using that robotic system.

This experience laid a strong foundation for SIUT’s expertise in robotic-assisted surgeries, he said, adding that in November 2021, SIUT achieved a significant milestone in the realm of surgical innovation by installing the state-of-the-art Versius robotic surgical system.

“Since its installation, more than 1,700 surgeries have been performed in Karachi alone, marking a paradigm shift in surgical precision and patient care,” he said.

Dr Rizvi went on to say that that the SIUT expanded the reach of robotic surgery across Sindh and in October 2022, it initiated robotic surgery in Sukkur and since then more than 200 surgeries had been performed.

The CM expressed his gratitude to Dr Rizvi and other surgeons for briefing him.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023