WEDNESDAY, June 25, (News Locale) - Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)  have successfully used a robot to perform surgery called thoracoscopic thymectomy that is used in the treatment of a rare muscle disorder called myasthenia gravis. 

The surgery involves the removal of thymus gland as it has been known to improve the conditions of patients suffering from what is effectively an autoimmune disease. Myasthenia gravis is a rare neuromuscular disorder causing muscle weakness and fatigue. Here the antibodies produced by the body fight off its own immune system leading to the absence of coordination between nerves and muscles.

Dr Arvind Kumar, professor of surgery at AIIMS told media that this was the first robotic chest surgery in India. Dr Kumar also revealed that they had performed seven surgeries using the robot and that the event is a milestone for Indian medical fraternity.

AIIMS had already been conducting surgeries for prostate cancer using the robot, but this is the first time that chest surgery was performed using it.

Doctors guide the robot from a special cubicle Two of the robot's four arms perform the surgery, while one holds a camera and the last one is on stand by for any other assistance.

Doctors at AIIMS had already used video assisted thoracoscopic (VAT) thymectomy, or removal of thymus gland for almost 200 patients over the last eight years.

Experts say robotic surgery is the future of precision surgery as these robots can reach inaccessible areas in the body without the need to sacrifice normal tissue. Furthermore the robots are designed so they can curve their arms as per the organ's curvature.