India, June 29 -- Doctors at the government-run BJ Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) performed their first robotic gallbladder removal surgery (cholecystectomy) on June 25. The surgery was performed free of cost on a 35-year-old woman from Pune who was suffering from abdominal pain due to gallstones, the officials said.

According to SGH officials, the advanced procedure, known as robotic cholecystectomy, uses robotic arms to perform minimally invasive surgery with high precision. This allows for smaller incisions, minimal blood loss, less postoperative pain and quicker recovery for patients, the officials said in a statement released on Saturday.

The surgery was performed by a surgical team comprising Dr Lata Bho...