New equipment at AIIMS-Patna reduce brain, spine surgery cost

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in capital city Patna has added three state-of-the-art equipment with artificial intelligence and robotic technology that enables neurosurgeons to perform complex brain and minimal invasive spine surgeries with precision, greater efficacy and reduced time, hospital officials said on Sunday

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in capital city Patna has added three state-of-the-art equipment with artificial intelligence and robotic technology that enables neurosurgeons to perform complex brain and minimal invasive spine surgeries with precision, greater efficacy and reduced time, hospital officials said on Sunday.

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“These first of its kind equipment in Bihar, with a consolidated cost of ₹9 crore (approximate), are a boon, as it improves patient-safety while reducing surgery time, post-operative complications and surgery cost,” said Dr Vikas Chandra Jha, associate professor and head, department of neurosurgery, AIIMS-Patna.

One of the new equipment Kenovo 900 operating microscope with endoscopic assistance and robotic arm technology allows up to 20 times magnification in brain surgery, making minute vascular details clearer and neural structures more vivid, avoiding post-operation complications, Dr Jha said.

“It also minimizes the cost of operation at a government set-up such as AIIMS, where complex brain tumour or brain haemorrhage surgeries are done within ₹1 lakh against an estimated cost of ₹4 lakh in big corporates,” said Dr Jha.

“The high-frequency C-arm with minimal invasive spine set (MISS), which gives three-dimensional reconstruction of the spine, helps in minimally invasive spine surgery, reducing the cost of such complex surgeries with fractured vertebrae and spinal deformities from ₹3 lakh to within ₹1 lakh. It also reduces the operative time from 12-15 hours to 3-4 hours, providing better safety to patients,” he added.

Both the instruments are integrated with another high-end equipment StealthStation S8 surgical navigation system, that provides sub-millimetre accuracy in spinal instrument fixation. It helps to treat deep-seated lesions like basal ganglia bleed and brain stem lesion accurately, said the neurosurgeon.

Talking about a procedure recently performed using the high-frequency C-arm, Dr Jha said, “A 60-year-old female, osteoporotic (weak and brittle bones) with paraparesis (partially unable to move legs) and bladder incontinence (loss of bladder control leading to involuntary leakage of urine) was treated with percutaneous (a procedure where access to inner organs or tissue is done via needle-puncture of the skin rather than by using an “open” approach, where organs or tissues are exposed) real-time 3D imaging with navigation guided pedicle-screw fixation that allows preservation of motion segments and stabilisation of the spine. The patient’s health is fast improving.”

The equipment also reconstructs the 3D spine model and helps repair under-vision fractured segment by percutaneous fusion using button-hole procedure, without having to make a big incision over spine.

“It is a big leap in minimal invasive spine surgery and real-time 3D imaging with axial, saggital (also longitudinal plane) and coronal (vertical plane that divides the body into ventral and dorsal or belly and back sections) cuts giving unbelievable accuracy to the surgeon. We have performed more than 10 such surgeries, mostly in accident cases,” signed off Dr Jha.

AIIMS-Patna director Dr PK Singh inaugurated the equipment at the institute on Friday.