Fellowship in Advanced Robotic & Innovative Surgery (FARIS) offered by the Association of Robotic and Innovative Surgeons (ARIS), an Assam-born Global organisation of surgeons, held its first inaugural Training cum fellowship course programme at the Fairfield by Marriotts, Benaulim, Goa from 18th to 22nd January 2023.
Robotic surgery has been an idea of a far-fetched future, residing somewhere in a notion or thought, but, recently, our country witnessed the realisation of that vision. With advanced technologies crafted every day, robotic surgery conveniently performs complex procedures with ease and benefits the patient greatly in terms of post-surgery care and comfort.
The programme has been formulated as a proper teaching programme distributed in various modules. The surgeons who were undergoing online lectures since October 2023 by nearly 25 experts would now be exposed to direct sessions, animate models, new technology, and hands- On training on cadavers. It took a lot of effort to bring forth this training program said Dr. Khanna about the programme being held at Goa. Incidentally Sri Ramachandra Medical University, Chennai came forward to affiliate this programme, and hence the training is a full – year university fellowship course recognised by UGC.
Apart from around 140 surgeons of the country who joined the course, there were 45 faculty members who helped in training. International delegates from the UK, Bangladesh, the Middle East and USA also joined the course. This training is being clubbed with another similar certificate course called FALS- Robotrics under IAGES. Altogether 7 surgical robots of various makes the CMR versius, da Vichi, and Medtronic Hugo were available to the surgeons to practice on these.
The inaugural ceremony was held at Fairfield Marriot, Goa, where the Chief Justice of Telangana, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was the invited guest of Honour and Governor of Himachal Pradesh Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was the Chief Guest of the function apart from Dr. Chandrakanta Shetya, MLA, Bicholim Constituency of Goa who was also the Guest of Honour.
The function was also attended by the Dean of Sri Ramachandra University of Medical Sciences and Research, Prof. Balaji Singh, and Dr. L. Thangavelu, the President of the prestigious body, the Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endosurgeons.
Dr. Subhash Khanna, founding President of ARIS, and a laparoscopic, bariatric, and robotic surgeon shared a few words of encouragement at the event.
“It is truly wonderful to be seeing so many like-minded people sitting together to create a healthier tomorrow. I hope this day brings you much-needed knowledge, guidance, and visions of better medical healthcare backed by the power of technology. We are bringing the future closer to us as we all gather here in learning, creating and using science with technology to enhance the medical sector. This will allow doctors to work with more precision for complex procedures, along with greater flexibility and more control. As this fellowship sheds light on the great advantage, it is a greater joy for patients as it will assure shorter hospital stays, less risk of infections, less blood loss, and most of all less pain during the recovery stage. I wish FARIS all the best in doing their best.”
Speaking on the occasion, Ujjal Bhuyan, Chief Justice of the High Court for the state of Telangana, said, “It is great to see that the next decade of innovation comes alive at this stage in Goa, and I am convinced that this fellowship is going to be a great start to the medical industry. You and I alike all look for medical services that are convenient and comfortable for us, as we wish to feel no pain or go through any more trouble; an initiative like this, definitely makes that possible. With faster, safer, less painful, and better results, I look forward to the grand achievements we receive as a reward for everyone’s efforts and dedication.” He also spoke about the legal aspects of the Robotic and felt that it may be treated as a taxable entity in times to come.
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, also shared his valuable thoughts on this initiative. “You have been here for the past 2 days and will be here for 3 more, the Robotic Surgery topic has been dwelled upon for the past few days and I have loved to see the seriousness taken towards this initiative. I know that in the future in regards to robotic surgery will be a topic for everyone sitting here, a more serious and improved one. Robots in the medical field are a great innovation that we need, as we see ourselves moving to the future at such a fast pace.”
The dean of Sri Ramachandra Medical University also bestowed few founding members with Honorary Fellowship, that included Prof. Subhash Khanna, Dr. Arun Prasad, Delhi Apollo, Dr. Somashekhar , Aster Bangalore, Dr. Avanish Saklani , Tata Hospital Mumbai, Dr. Vivek Bindal , Max. Vaishali, Dr. Venkatesh Munikrishnan and Dr. Raj Palaniappan from Apollo Chennai.
The event detailed a knowledgeable session by various faculty who spoke on various robotic procedures possible with this technology. The dignitaries and attendees also witnessed a demonstration by the faculty on the know-how of technology, robotic cart, instruments/docking, and troubleshooting.
The event brought insight into things unseen and thoughts on creating a better future in the world of medical healthcare. It is a moment of immense pride for the state of Assam that such an advanced fellowship has been started in India by ARIS a Guwahati born society, which is one of the few in the world, and the first international training program on robotics in the country.