Updated on Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, June 24: In a major breakthrough, the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has for the first time performed the path-breaking robotic-assisted surgery for myasthenia gravis, a life- threatening muscular disease.

The surgery requires an incision of only one centimetre, a hospital stay of two to three days and minimal blood loss. Professor N P Gupta of the department of urology said seven cases have been operated upon since June 21.

Myasthenia gravis is an auto immune disorder that causes muscle weakness.

"What we tried is robotic thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. We have been performing video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy for the past eight years. But this is the first time we used a robot," Gupta said.

The disease is a result of a defect in transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. As a result, muscle stops contracting. The thymus gland located in front of the heart plays an important role in the development of the immune system.

In some cases of myasthenia gravis, the gland does not function or has cancer. "So options left are medication or or surgery," said professor Arvind Kumar of the AIIMS department of surgery who performed the operation with the assistance of two surgeons from Germany.

Bureau Report