Online Indian publication ThePrint recently published a report on the growing acceptance- by both surgeons and patients- of the SSI Mantra surgical robot in Tier 1 and 2 cities. What's also great to see, is that many of the Vattikuti Foundation Fellowship Program's Mentor Surgeons and Network Surgeons have been quoted!
The comprehensive article, "Indigenous, affordable, how robot-assisted surgeries are finding takers in smaller Indian cities," was published on August 29th. It first takes a look at Dr. Magan Mehrotra (not a VF partner), a minimal access bariatric surgeon at Apex Hospital, located in UP’s Tier-2 city Moradabad. In 2023, he acquired the SSI Mantra for his 110-bed facility. To date, he has performed over 300 procedures with the robot. He and his patients have been very pleased with the results. Dr. Mehrotra is also pleased with the cost savings, when compared with imported robotic systems.
Foundation friend Dr. Vivek Bindal spoke about the patient benefits, Dr. Rama Joshi was quoted regarding pushback from established surgeons in the early age of robotics- and the tremendous need India has to grow robotic surgery. Dr. Somashekhar S.P. looked at the many systems available, both foreign and domestic, telling ThePrint that the lengthy learning curve for surgeons was worth the effort. Dr. Rooma Sinha made a strong case for expanding the benefits of robotic surgery to more patients. It's an article worth reading.
