NICVD performs country’s first-ever remote robotic stent surgery
Remote robotic stent surgery can reduce sufferings of cardiac patients in remote areas
In a ground-breaking feat, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) has made history with the first-ever remote robotic stent placement surgery in Bangladesh.
This pioneering procedure, conducted beyond the traditional confines of the operating theatre and catheterisation laboratory on Sunday, opens doors to a future of more accessible and minimally invasive cardiac care.
Doctors believe that, when widely available, this procedure will enable patients in remote areas to undergo stent placement in nearby hospitals, performed by specialist doctors in Dhaka. This will reduce both their suffering and the associated costs.
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According to NICVD officials, Dr Pradip Kumar Karmakar, an associate professor of cardiology at the institute, successfully placed stents in two patients diagnosed with 90% blockage in the main heart blood vessel, using robots controlled via the internet on 28 January. The operation took place on the second floor of the institute, while the robots were operated from the eighth floor.
Haroon-ur-Rashid, a 55-year-old businessman from Madaripur, was rushed to a local hospital after experiencing a heart attack on 19 January. He was then transferred to NICVD on the same night. Following an angiogram, Dr Karmakar, the head of the robotics team, offered his family the option of robotic stent placement.
His son-in-law Farooq Bapari told The Business Standard, "On 21 January, we spoke to the families of the two patients who underwent robotic stent placement. We were personally interested in having the stent fitted by the robot, so we waited a few days even though it was late."
He mentioned that their patient is now doing well, and they plan to take him home this morning.
Another patient, Liton Karmakar, a 45-year-old resident of Chandpur's Matlab, is also recovering well and is expected to go home today. Liton was admitted to NICVD on 27 January after receiving treatment at Chandpur Sadar Hospital and Cumilla Medical following a heart attack.
Liton's elder brother Tapan Karmakar told TBS the stent was placed in just 20-25 minutes by the robot. "Our patient had to receive the placement of one stent," he added.
The entire inaugural operation and the ground-breaking process were witnessed by the acting director of NICVD Prof Dr Kamrul Hasan Milon and Professor Azad along with other doctors.
Robotic angioplasty, employing the Robocath R-One system's robotic arm controlled from a separate machine, represents the most advanced technology for cardiac stent placement.
NICVD officials say the one-month trial period, facilitated by the French company that provided the Robocath R-One system free of charge, aims to assess its compatibility with Bangladesh's existing infrastructure.
If successful, the NICVD plans to request the government purchase the machine, potentially making robotic angioplasty a permanent treatment option in the country, they added.
Earlier on 21 January, two patients underwent stent implantation for the first time using a robot at NICVD. However, the operation was not conducted remotely, unlike the latest successful procedure.
Dr Pradip Kumar Karmakar said on January 21, the two patients who received stent placement by robots were connected with wires, adding, "I was in the control room on the same floor as the patient in the catheterisation lab. The patient and my machine were connected by a wire."
He said, "But this time, it was connected to the internet wirelessly, which works remotely. The patient was in the catheterisation lab on the second floor, and I sat on the eighth floor, placing his stent."
Highlighting the importance of placing stents through remote-controlled robots, Dr Karmakar said many parts of the country have catheterisation lab machines, but there are not many expert doctors there.
"If this machine is setup in those hospitals, heart patients from remote areas will not have to come to Dhaka to get stent placement. Our main target patients who are in Khulna, Panchagarh, Sylhet, or Cox's Bazar will be in the available catheterisation lab there, and we can fit them from Dhaka," he added.
Dr Pradip Kumar Karmakar said this machine is working in the country. If the government sets up the necessary infrastructure, then there will be a revolutionary change in the treatment of heart disease.
Professor Dr Kamrul Hasan Milon told TBS, "This device has been brought from France at no cost for one month. Our doctors will train for a month, observe, and then, when the government processes it, it will be set up in Dhaka. One day doctors will surely be able to treat the district while sitting in Dhaka."
The remote procedure made Bangladesh the third country in Asia, following India and China, to utilise a remotely controlled operation theatre-cath lab for robotic stent surgery.
