Hyderabad: The Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) performed 1,000 robotic surgeries in less than three years, with over 90 per cent procedures free of cost.

Operations were conducted under the Aarogyasri and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) schemes.

The surgeries included 590 procedures by the Urology Department, 248 by the Surgical Gastroenterology Department and 162 by the Surgical Oncology Department. The operations covered complex conditions involving the prostate, urinary bladder, kidney, liver, pancreas, intestines, uterus and ovaries, including several cancer surgeries.

The hospital had earlier performed South India’s first robotic kidney transplant in the government sector.

NIMS Director Prof Dr Rahul Devaraj credited the achievement to the combined efforts of surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nursing staff, operation theatre teams and other supporting departments.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha congratulated the team on achieving the milestone. Noting that the NIMS had recently completed 2,000 kidney transplant surgeries, they hailed it for emerging as one of the country’s leading organ transplant centres.

“The government is expanding robotic surgery services across public hospitals. Besides NIMS, robotic surgeries are being conducted at MNJ Cancer Hospital, while advanced robotic operation theatres are planned for the upcoming TIMS hospitals, Gandhi Hospital and the new Osmania General Hospital,” said an official release.