AIIMS favours Swedish surgical machines

A Swedish machine that does minimally invasive surgery should be used all over India, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said Tuesday.

“There are eight Gamma Knife machines in the country and four are in Delhi. We need to increase this number to at least one machine in each state,” AIIMS’ Department of Neurosurgery head A.K. Mohapatra said.

Sweden’s Minister for Health Goran Hagglund Tuesday visited the AIIMS here to take an overview of the Swedish surgical procedure.

Gamma knife treatment involves delivering a single, high dose of radiation to a small and critically located target in the brain. It is a fully automated and push-button approach.

According to AIIMS, the Swedish machine has improved the treatment and made it cost-effective. The patients are staying for a shorter period in the hospital and recovering fast.