International symposium on benefits of robotic surgery opens at SIUT

A two-day international symposium on robotic surgery which began at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) here on Friday called for the need of pooling resources of advance surgical expertise, by collaborating and enhancing access to achieve the desired goal.

The opening day of the symposium featured a wide ranging topics of the technology by holding discussions and hands-on training. Discussion spearheaded by internationally acclaimed surgeons and healthcare specialists, who highlighted the transformative impact of robotics on modern surgery, emphasizing its precision, efficiency, and ability to improve patient outcomes.

The SIUT, which is a pioneering institution in urology, nephrology, organ transplantation, and hepatobiliary care, has been at the forefront of robotic surgery in Pakistan since 2017. It began its robotic surgery programme with a shared Da Vinci robotic system at Civil Hospital Karachi and successfully performed over 600 procedures.

In 2021, the SIUT established its own Kassim Parekh Robotic and Laparoscopy Unit, featuring the Versius robotic surgical system, which has since then performed over 2,000 successful surgeries in urological, hepatobiliary, and colorectal segment of surgeries.

Prominent speakers who participated in the discussion included, Professor Khurshid Guru from the US who spoke on the revolutionary role of robotics in pelvic surgery, demonstrating how these procedures are enhancing accuracy and minimizing surgical trauma. Dr Nauman Zaffar from Lahore discussed the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of robotic surgery in Pakistan’s public sector hospitals. He shed light on its long-term benefits for the healthcare system. Professor Adeel Khan from the University of Washington shared his experience in robotic liver transplantation, detailing how this advanced technology is reshaping complex surgical procedures. In addition, a diverse panel of specialists also held which was—attended by Rehan Mohsin of SIUT, C. Mallikarjuna, Pranjul Modi both from India carried out the discussion.

Others surgeons who also shared their experience during the daylong proceedings were Badar Mian, Arsalan Khan, Aimal Khan and Ghluam Abbas and Goa Linda who all came from the US. Saad Aldousari of Kuwait along with Pakistan’s Naresh Kumar, Harris Qureshi, Shahid Rasool, Shadab Khan, and Samia Malik—shared their experiences in urological, hepatobiliary, general, and gynecological robotic surgery applications.