SIUT workshop wraps up with successful robotic surgery

The three-day workshop focused on new procedures in urology, general surgery, gynaecology

KARACHI: On the concluding day of the three-day international multidisciplinary "robotic surgery" workshop at the Karachi Civil Hospital OT Complex and Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) on Saturday, a successful robotic surgical procedure was performed for the first time in Pakistan on a female patient hailing from Balochistan for the removal of her uterus.

The procedure called 'hysterectomy' was performed on a 55-year-old woman. This new type of surgery was performed by a team of surgeons comprising Professor Shamim Khan of King's College London and Dr Kankipati Shanti Raju from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London along with a team of highly-trained support staff.



Medical experts have described the procedure as a major breakthrough in the field of robotic surgery in Pakistan particularly in the field of gynaecology. They said that the success of this surgery will open new vistas of robotic surgery in the country. SIUT had arranged an international workshop discussing the impact and benefit of robotic surgery in the field of urology, general surgery and gynaecology.



The three fields were exclusively discussed during the workshop in which live surgery was also performed. The workshop was attended by a team of surgeons from UK along with surgeons from SIUT and Civil Hospital.

Medical experts discussed the initial high cost of this state-of-the-art surgery but highlighted the benefits of lesser pain, lesser loss of blood and faster recovery as compared to traditional surgeries.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2019.