Fortis in Bengaluru completes 500 robotic aided urology procedures

Fortis Hospital in Bengaluru said it has successfully completed 500 robotic-aided urology procedures. The urology team at Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru led by Dr. Mohan Keshavamurthy completed 500 robotic surgeries in 53 months of the installation of Da Vinci surgical system at Fortis Bannerghatta.

The 500 robot-aided surgeries include complex robotic procedures encompassing the entire gamut of Uro-Oncology, Uro-Gynaecology, Reconstructive Urology and Kidney Transplant. 

“Our urology team has successfully carried out 500 robotic urology procedures since its introduction in the year 2017. This milestone has been achieved in just  53 months, despite 2 years of Covid disruption,” said Dr Mohan Keshavamurthy, Director, Urology, Uro-oncology, Uro-gynaecology, Andrology, Transplant & Robotic Surgery, Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru, and Chairman, Renal Sciences Specialty Council, Fortis Hospitals, India

The hospital also announced the launch of BK ultrasound MRI Fusion Biopsy solution for Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. 

“As part of our endeavour for enhanced patient experience, we have now introduced BK ultrasound MRI Fusion Biopsy solution, to improve the early detection of clinically significant prostate cancer that has not been diagnosed by the standard technique of prostate biopsy,” said Keshavamurthy.

Robot-aided surgery is a minimally invasive procedure which allows surgeons to have better vision, precision, and control while performing the surgeries. Other benefits include decreased pain, fewer post-operative infections and less scarring. Recovery is rapid, with minimal hospital stay, faster mobilisation and rehabilitation. Reducing the chance of infection makes it an ideal procedure for people with diabetes and other co-morbidities. 

On the other hand, bkFusion is a fast, flexible, and effective MRI-ultrasound fusion prostate biopsy solution. It fuses real-time ultrasound with MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) images of the prostate to provide urologists with clear visualization. This helps them accurately target lesions identified on the MRI, potentially reducing the risk of missing high-grade tumors or under-staging tumors for active surveillance. According to a recent report, Fortis said bkFusion has an 84 per cent positive detection rate for prostate cancer and bkFusion biopsies have been recorded to be as fast as seven minutes. 

Regarding pricing, Akshay Oleti, Business Head, Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru, said the Fortis Group of Hospitals in Bengaluru are able to effectively provide affordable high-tech robotic treatments by focusing on a volume-driven program.

“By following the Japanese model of treating more patients at the lowest cost compared to the competition, Fortis has been able to deliver better outcomes and excellent clinical quality,” said Oleti.

As a part of the pricing strategy, Oleti said Fortis has created affordable packages that provide comfort to the patients financially. These packages predominantly account for the additional consumables used in the robotic program. 

“Also, there is positivity amongst the insurance companies to cover most of the robotic surgeries, thereby alleviating the need for out-of-pocket spends for the patient,” said Oleti. “Robotic procedure costs vary based on the procedure. However, we benchmark them 20-30 per cent lower with respect to our competitors.”

US-based Intuitive makes the robotic-assisted Da Vinci surgical system. Mandeep Singh Kumar, vice president and country general manager, Intuitive India, said Dr. Keshavamurthy’s well-knit robotic surgery team, and advanced da Vinci RAS technology coupled with Intuitive’s ecosystem development have been the key drivers towards this achievement. “We share similar goals of making robotic surgery more accessible and offering its benefits to the greater patient community,” said Kumar.

“The cutting-edge technology has the potential to improve the early detection of clinically significant prostate cancer and we are confident that this technology will be utilised to its fullest,” said  Ram Narayan, Director – Healthware India, a medical equipment distributor and partner of Fortis.

During an event in Bengaluru, several patients shared their stories related to the surgeries carried out robotically. One such patient was 12-year-old Kanika who was suffering from end-stage renal disease along with other co-morbidities. She had also been on hemodialysis which made her robotic transplant surgery a challenging one. An expert team of doctors successfully conducted her surgery, and she was discharged in a stable health condition. 

 Another extraordinary case was that of Mr. Raghavan’s, aged 66. He presented with Grade II prostate cancer. After pre-operative evaluation and fitness for surgery, a Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland and some of the tissue around it) was performed and then discharged in a stable state post 5 days of the surgery.