Robotic surgery is trickling into India’s public health sector
The Regional Cancer Center in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram has done just that Reportedly received $7 million in funding to set up a robotic surgery facility, a first in a public hospital in India.
The robotic surgery unit, which was inaugurated this week, was established through the Rebuild Kerala Initiative. The same program is helping to set up a similar facility at the Malabar Cancer Center.
WHY IT MATTERS
Until recently, robot-assisted surgery (RAS) as part of cancer treatment was only accessible in large hospitals at home and abroad. In the state of Kerala, only three healthcare facilities offer this service, namely Apollo Adlux Hospital, Amrita Hospital and Aster Medcity – all of which use the da Vinci Surgical System from US company Intuitive Surgical.
THE BIG TREND
As mentioned, robotic surgery, which is considered for less pain, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery for patients, is largely offered in large and private hospitals and healthcare facilities. Apollo Hospitals’ Apollo Institute of Robotic Surgery and Max Healthcare’s Max Institute of Robotic Surgery offer the nation’s largest robotic surgery programs, utilizing several robotic surgery systems, including da Vinci, Renaissance Robotic Technology and CORI Surgical System from Smith+Nephew .
The private Venkateshwar Hospital in Delhi uses the Hugo RAS system, while another private facility, Swagat Hospitals in northeast India, operates a robotic surgery theater using CMR Surgical’s Versius system.
As early as 2002, RAS was implemented in India, mainly using Intuitive’s da Vinci system, which remains the local market leader. This type of procedure is often performed in areas such as gastrology, urology and gynecology. Some spinal and cardiothoracic surgeries have also been performed using robotic systems. This year, the Indian RAS market is reportedly expected to be worth approximately $300 million.
Intuitive Managing Director and Vice President of India Mandeep Singh Kumar said in a media interview that they are a post-COVID increase in demand for RASnoting that some are from standalone hospitals and hospitals outside tier-1 cities that are also looking to benefit from the shorter recovery times it offers.
Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, a cardiologist who previously worked on the Da Vinci system, has taken a slice of this growing market with a more affordable alternative and has come up with the locally made SSI Mantra. The SSI Mantra, which costs about a third of Intuitive’s offering, first launched commercially in 2021 and aims to make and sell more than 1,000 units by the end of the decade. It is currently installed and live in five hospitals in the country: Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute in New Delhi, Continental Hospital in Hyderabad, Sanjeevani CBCC USA Cancer Hospital in Raipur, Hindustan Hospital in Coimbatore and Cytocure Hospital in Mumbai.