DTMT Network

Mumbai’s Zen Multispecialty Hospital on October 6, 2021, organized the first-of-its-kind live laparoscopic cancer surgery hybrid event.

Around 4,000 laparoscopic surgery stalwarts came under one roof from across the country to watch the live surgeries followed by a question and answer session.

Dr Roy Patankar, Director and Gastroenterologist, Zen Multispeciality Hospital, said, “Due to the Covid pandemic, the surgical training since last one year has been badly impacted. Before the pandemic, it was possible for thousands of people to come together, and educate them via slide presentation.”

“But, laparoscopic surgeries with a focus on cancer need to be performed live, since last year, those who have passed MS and MCH haven’t seen any live surgeries due to Covid,” said Patankar.

He further added that this time, the high-end surgeries were conducted live at Zen Hospital, and 100 people gathered at Acres Club Chembur, Mumbai, and these surgeries were transmitted to 41 locations across the country. Around 4,000 surgeons watched these surgeries.

Dr Patankar, said that people from Jammu & Kashmir, Chennai, Kolkata and many more were around 50 surgeons were there in the medical colleges in one hall with Covid safety precautions.

“They were able to witness live streaming with high bandwidth. This hybrid approach is the best way for training in the near future. Apart from this, we tied up with 20 surgical societies like Indore Surgical Society wherein 50 medical surgeons were present,” he added.

He explained that even questions were asked to surgeons while they were performing live. If the surgeon gets into any difficulty, people are able to witness how they come out of it, safely.