Shillong, Sep 6: North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) Director Dr Nalin Mehta has announced that the institute is in the process of acquiring a surgical robot.
The announcement came following a successful surgery conducted by a team of doctors conducted an Endoscopic Thyroidectomy (or Remote access thyroidectomy) procedure on a patient with thyroid cancer.
Dr Mehta said a surgical robot would enable many more complex procedures to be performed safely.
According to the institute, the procedure was performed without any incision over the neck and with the help of instruments used for laparoscopic surgery which were inserted through armpit and chest to remove thyroid gland through a small incision.
Additional Professor of Surgical Oncology Dr Caleb Harris who performed the surgery said that half of the thyroid gland was removed from the patient who had a cancerous tumour. The patient had a quick recovery and was discharged the next day.
NEIGRIHMS Medical Superintendent Dr Suvamoy Chakraborty said that with improved outcomes for thyroid cancer, there is a focus on better quality of life and such a surgery, without a scar on the neck, enables more young people to come forward for treatment.
Head of the department of Anaesthesiology Dr Nari Lyngdoh said that such procedures need special attention to the anaesthesia techniques and that the department is geared towards providing the care and support for advanced surgical procedures.
