Hon. Telengana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan inaugurates first-ever national conference on robotic gynaecological surgery in India, RoboGynlndia2022

Hon Governor with Prof. Walter.H Gotlieb, International faculty and Dr. Rooma Sinha, Organizing Chairperson, RoboGynIndia 2022

13th Aug 2022, Hyderabad: Hon. Telengana Governor, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan inaugurated the first-ever national conference on robotic gynaecological surgery in India, RoboGynlndia2022, in Hyderabad today. This conference was jointly conducted by Association of Gynecological Robotic Surgeons (AGRS), the national organization of surgeons practicing the art of robotic gynecological surgeries, along with Intuitive Surgical, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS). The two-day-long conference is aimed at familiarizing surgeons and residents with the clinical application of the latest techniques in treating gynecological disorders. The conference organized at a hotel in Hyderabad, provided a unique opportunity for surgeons to interact with eminent international and Indian faculty to get insights into making this technology clinically relevant to their practice.

The organising committee had worked tirelessly to formulate comprehensive master class sessions on robotic gynecological procedures. Four international stalwarts in gynaecological surgery and eminent Indian surgeons were invited to ensure an extensive knowledge-sharing experience for the attendees. Apart from master class sessions on robotic myomectomy, robotic hysterectomy for malignancy, complex hysterectomy, endometriosis excision & neuropelveology, there were detailed keynotes and panel discussions on topics relevant to robotic-assisted surgery, its applications, future, and about the need to include RAS in insurance policies.

Hon Governor Inaugurating RoboGynIndia 2022

Commenting on this initiative, Dr. Rooma Sinha, the organising chairperson of RoboGynIndia and the Founder President of AGRS said “Thank you so much to our honorable Governor, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan for gracing this event with her presence. Her being a gynecologist, I am sure her support to this initiative will abundantly help us to communicate the importance of addressing the growing health concerns of women in India, by using the latest surgical technology.

India is home to some of the top gynecology surgeons in the world, and we are delighted to introduce this platform to bring them all under one umbrella. Through this unique platform, we intend to familiarize our surgeons with the latest technology, paving the way for us to bring better clinical outcomes for women. Robotic-assisted systems like da Vinci allow the surgeon to take a minimal access approach to gynecology disorders requiring complex surgery, with a much lesser learning curve. This will not only help cancer patients, but also people who have benign conditions, as well. A typical Indian woman suffering from painful periods, heavy menstrual bleeding, fibroids or endometriosis suffers for years together, thinking this is a part of her life. Robotic surgery can make a big change in these women’s lives, by getting the surgery done with less hospitalization, less blood loss, less pain, and better aesthetics.”

Commenting on this joint initiative, Mandeep Singh Kumar – Vice President & Country GM – Intuitive India, said, “Though we are witnessing a rapid increase in the number of surgeons in India who are keen to adopt RAS technology to better serve their patients, there is an ever-increasing requirement for further adoption to serve a larger percentage of the population. This is very much visible in certain therapy areas, a key one being gynaecology. To help bridge this gap, we continuously collaborate with surgeon communities and leading hospitals to accelerate the understanding of benefits that come from robotic-assisted surgery among HCPs and patients. As a part of this drive, we are happy to be associated with AGRS for the RoboGynIndia conference, which aims to support the evolution of the country’s surgical healthcare landscape towards making the benefits of RAS accessible to a larger percentage of women in India.”

“Gynecologic disorders are notably more prevalent in women in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Training the specialists in LMICs to face multiple challenges like assuring protected time from other clinical demands, access to best practise guidelines, training tailored to the specific challenges faced in the trainee’s environment, isolation from other fully trained professionals, and securing support services. Furthermore, it costs a lot to train specialists from LMICs in environments with abundant resources. To tackle these challenges, we, the leaders of gynaecologic surgical facilities in India have devised a strategy for meeting the training requirements for our surgeons in the country, and RoboGynIndia is a product of that,” Dr. Rooma Sinha added.

Commenting on RAS in gynaecological surgery, Dr. Anupama Bahadur, Joint Organizing Secretary of RoboGynIndia said “the greatest surgical advancement in the last 2 decades can be attributed to robotic-assisted surgery (RAS). With significant advantages, it has revolutionised surgical practice with well-proven advantages like reduced surgical trauma and reduced incision-related complications. The new medical and surgical technologies have the potential to improve patient outcomes, and we are glad to have this one-of-a-kind platform built for our surgeons to familiarise themselves with the application of the latest surgical technologies in gynecology.”

More than 100 surgeons and residents from across India were a part of this two-daylong conference. The organising committee is planning to conduct this conference in the coming years as well. Apart from that, AGRS will conduct live robotic-assisted surgery sessions in various parts of the country in the coming months.

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