EHIRC launches Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery

Our Corporate Bureau
14 December 2002

IMIS is an extension of EHIRC wherein the da Vinci surgical system for endoscopic heart procedures has been installed to bring to India, for the first time, minimally invasive alternatives. The institute will have nine operation theatres, five cath labs and around 320 beds. EHIRC is the only hospital from Germany to Japan, which has installed totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass surgery with the use of the da Vinci surgical system.

The landmark institute and the da Vinci surgical system was inaugurated on 13 December 2002 by Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, in the presence of some esteemed members of the medical fraternity. Adding a new dimension to medical science, the institute and the da Vinci shall partner to enable the Endoscopic Cardiac Surgery for the first time in Asia.

On the occasion, Kalam said: “Across industries, India has moved ahead in introducing new technologies and innovations. Medical science impacts the life of every citizen and the introduction of the da Vinci system will greatly simplify the procedures of cardiac surgeries and reduce the pain of enduring it. I wish Escorts Heart Institute all the very best for the effort they have made to pioneer endoscopic cardiac surgery in this continent.“

The da Vinci, christened as intitutive surgery, is the first endoscopic surgical system in existence. It is the first operative surgical system in the world cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Through the development and commercialisation of da Vinci surgical system, intitutive surgery is literally taking surgery beyond the limits of human hand. The da Vinci system already exists in more than 115 (about 15 for cardiac surgery) major hospitals and surgical facilities throughout the US, Europe and Japan.

“The launch of the Institute and the da Vinci system is like a dream come true. Only through our extensive research and feedback from other countries we have been able to bring this technology to India. It makes us proud to state that from Germany to Japan the da Vinci is indeed invisible,“ says EHIRC chairman Rajan Nanda.

Minimally invasive surgery, also referred to as endoscopic surgery, is gaining increasing popularity worldwide as the preferred mode of conducting a cardiac surgery. With the aid of a small endoscopic camera and several long rigid instruments, the surgeon is able to conduct the surgery. This reduces the chances of any infection while ensuring greater precision (3D images are magnified 10 times by the camera) and patient comfort. A special certification has been issued by the da Vinci Centre, USA, for doctors to operate on the da Vinci in India.