NICVD Performs Country's First Remote Robotic Stent Surgery

The National Cardiovascular Institute and Hospital (NICVD) marked a significant achievement by performing the inaugural remote robotic stent placement surgery in Bangladesh on January 28. This groundbreaking procedure deviated from the conventional settings of the operation theatre (OT) and catheterization laboratory (cath lab).

As reported by NICVD officials, Dr Pradip Kumar Karmakar, associate professor of Cardiology, extended a free service offer to two patients, Haroon-ur-Rashid, 55, and Liton Karmakar, 45, diagnosed with 90% blockage in the main heart blood vessel. Utilizing remote-controlled robotic technology, Dr Pradip successfully placed stents on January 28, with the entire operation occurring on the second floor of the institute while being remotely operated from the eighth floor.

The historic event was observed by the Director of the National Heart Institute and Hospital Professor Dr Kamrul Hasan Milan, Professor Azad, and other medical professionals. Notably, this remote procedure positioned Bangladesh as the third country in Asia, after India and China, to employ a remotely controlled operation theatre-cath lab for robotic stent surgery.

Robotic angioplasty, utilizing the Robocath R-One system's robotic arm controlled from a separate machine, stands as the forefront of technological advancements in cardiac stent placement. It's worth mentioning that on January 22, two patients underwent stent implantation for the first time using a robot at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), although this earlier operation was not conducted remotely, unlike the recent successful procedure.