Karachi Feb 2025: 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.
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 program with a shared Da Vinci robotic system at
Civil Hospital Karachi and successfully performed over 600 procedures.
In 2021, 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 day long 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.
ADVERTISEMENT
