In a major advancement for telemedicine and robotic surgery, an Indian cardiac surgeon has successfully performed a robot-assisted heart procedure on a patient in Indore while operating from Guyana—nearly 20,000 km away. The feat marks the longest-distance robotic cardiac telesurgery ever recorded.
The procedure connected Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in Guyana with IRCAD India in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Renowned robotic cardiac specialist Dr. Sudhir Srivastava carried out a key step of the surgery—Left Internal Mammary Artery (LIMA) takedown—using the India-developed SSI Mantra Surgical Robotic System.
During the operation, Dr. Srivastava operated via a tele-surgeon console in Guyana, while robotic arms in Indore replicated his movements in real time. The system functioned over a high-speed fibre-optic network with a delay of just 290–300 milliseconds, enabling smooth and precise surgical control despite the long distance.
This achievement surpasses the earlier record of a 10,000 km robotic telesurgery between Strasbourg and Indore, effectively doubling the distance and setting a new global benchmark in remote cardiac care. The procedure was supported by a specialist medical team in India, including experts from leading hospitals and IRCAD India.
The milestone coincided with Guyana’s 60th Independence anniversary celebrations and the launch of its National Robotic Surgery Programme, during which three robotic surgeries were successfully performed on the inaugural day.
Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali described the development as a significant step forward for healthcare innovation, highlighting its potential to reduce geographical barriers and expand access to advanced surgical care worldwide.
(Photo courtesy: facebook/airnewsalerts)