Bhubaneswar, March 6: Odisha government is exploring the feasibility of installing robot-assisted surgery, liver transplant facilities and introduction of gamma knife (for neurosurgery) at SCB Medical College and Hospital.
Proposals were put forth before the state today by three senior professors and heads of the departments of the medical college in this regard.
The move comes following the success of kidney transplants and open-heart surgeries at SCB, a government-run hospital. Odisha chief secretary B.K. Patnaik asked the health secretary to examine the feasibility of the proposals in terms of cost and benefits.
“We will examine the feasibility of these facilities. After all, these are costly equipment and cost crores,” health secretary P.K. Mohapatra told The Telegraph.
While the estimated cost for robotic surgery facilities comes to around Rs 12.5 crore, for liver transplants, it would be around Rs 4 crore. The gamma knife and related equipment would cost around Rs 25 crore, said a professor of the premier medical college.
Head of department of urology Datteswar Hota said the robot-assisted surgery technology involves minimal surgical intervention. “It can be used in multi-speciality surgeries such as cardio-thoracic, general surgery, urology and gynaecological cases,” he said. The average cost per patient will be between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000, whereas patients have to spend more than a lakh at private hospitals, he said.
Giving a presentation on liver transplant technology, head of surgical gastroenterology Mihir Mohapatra said the installation of equipment would cost around Rs 4 crore and there would be a recurring expenditure of Rs 4 crore per year.
“If installed, availing liver transplant facilities will cost around Rs 10 to 12 lakh per patient at SCB. They are spending Rs 25 to Rs 30 lakh outside the state and more than a crore abroad,” said Mohapatra. Professor of neurosurgery Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra put forth a proposal to install a gamma knife for effective neurosurgery.
Gamma knife, an automated system, will conduct surgeries of malignant tumours, and vascular disorders, experts said.
