Gurugram, Haryana, India | | 16th July 2025: Dr. Mohit Bhandari, President of IRCAD India and a pioneer among bariatric and robotic surgeons successfully completed the world’s first long-distance robotic bariatric telesurgery, a milestone that redefines the future of global surgical care and access.
Operating from a robotic console in Gurugram, Dr. Bhandari conducted a complex gastric bypass on a patient located more than 850 kilometers away in Indore—executed with zero perceptible lag and full surgical precision. The procedure was performed using the SSI Mantra M3 system, a next-generation, India-developed robotic surgery platform. This landmark achievement not only highlights India’s rapidly advancing capabilities in medical robotics and digital health but also establishes new global standards for remote surgical care in high-complexity domains.
This landmark operation marks the first documented case of long-distance robotic bariatric telesurgery between two major Indian cities, setting a new precedent for remote surgery in high-complexity fields. It highlights India’s fast-growing leadership in medical robotics, innovation, and digital health.
Dr. Bhandari, who has performed over 30,000 bariatric and metabolic procedures, Asia-Pacific’s one of the most well-known bariatric surgeonsin this speciality. He introduced robotic bariatric surgery to India and was the first Indian surgeon to perform a single-anastomosis duodenal-ileal switch. Most recently, he was honored with the International Surgeon Award at the ASMBS Global Congress in Washington D.C. (June 2025)—further reinforcing his reputation as a trailblazer in surgical innovation.
Commenting on the same Dr. Mohit Bhandari said: “This success is a testament to the transformative potential of robotic telesurgery in revolutionizing surgical access, enabling expert surgeons to operate across geographies in real time, and seamlessly bridging urban and regional care centers. It’s a powerful example of how we can democratize access to surgical expertise, not just across India, but globally.”
This milestone is more than a technical triumph—it signals a fundamental shift in how advanced surgical care can be delivered:
- Bridging the urban-rural divide by enabling expert surgeons to operate across geographies
- Improving patient outcomes by reducing time-to-treatment in remote areas
- Scaling surgical expertise through technology-driven models of care
- Creating global benchmarks in safe and precise telesurgery
