World’s 1st live surgery for apnea in city
In a first-of-its-kind attempt in the world, a live online robotic surgery course dedicated to base tongue surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) was conducted at Asian heart Hospital at Bandra-Kurla Complex. Over 2,000 doctors viewed the live surgery throughout the world via web-cast.
The workshop was conducted by world-renowned robotic surgeons for sleep apnea Prof. Dr Claudio Vicini, Dr Filippo Montevecchi from Italy, the vice-chairman and cardio-vascular thoracic surgeon from Asian Heart Institute Dr Ramakanta Panda and ENT surgeon Dr Vikas Agrawal, who is credited to be the first Indian surgeon to perform this ENT procedure robotically and endoscopically in India.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a disorder in which a person stops breathing during the night, hundreds of times. These gaps in breathing are called apneas. The disorder occurs when tissues in the upper throat collapse at different times during sleep, thereby blocking the passage of air.
Building on a 2009 AIIMS study and his own observations, Dr Agrawal said, “Around 13 per cent of the Indian population suffers from OSA, out of which only four per cent go to doctors for symptoms as others are not aware of OSA. Even our general doctors and government is not educated about OSA and hence, we organised a live base tongue surgery.”
Indians, are known to have a flatter facial structure compared to Caucasians, as a result of which our tongue presses on the back of the throat more frequently. This is one reason why the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask — conventional therapy option for OSA — is not as effective in our population as Caucasians. Here, air is delivered through a mask while the patient sleeps, keeping the airway open.
Further, obesity increases the chances of OSA almost four folds. The robotic surgery or minimally invasive surgery is done directly by entering the body instead of a large cut, which is usually done in a normal surgery. The overall cost of the robotic surgery is around `3 lakh.
Post new comment