FOR the last many years, especially in the last two years, there has been a debate among our healthcare professionals as to why and when should we have cuttingedge technology in healthcare in a country like Pakistan.

There are people in the medical community who vehemently oppose the expenditure simply because they think that it is not essential for us as many difficult surgical questions can be answered without it. Others believe that we, as a country, cannot afford it because of a struggling national economy.

In contrast, there are organisations and doctors who believe in the viability of robotic surgery as a tool, and who foresee that with the passage of time technology will become affordable and visible in its application in various areas of the surgical field. There is also the belief that with rapid progress in data sciences, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually be integrated, taking the robotic platform to an even higher level. Besides, it is the birth-right of every Pakistani to have the benefits of cutting-edge technologyin healthcare.

A recent joint meeting of the Society of Robotic Surgery (SRS) and the Pakistan Society of Robotic Surgery (PSRS) in Karachi covered all the relevant issues in its scientific sessions, with presentations on the use of robotic surgery in urology, general surgery, gynaecology and cardiothoracic surgery. Moreover, there were experts making presentations related to the application of 5G technology, telerobotics, simulation and metaverse in medical education.

The joint meeting might have convinced the `technophobes` that robotic surgery is here to stay in Pakistan, and we, as Pakistanis, would dare to dream of it.

Dr Asad Shahzad Hasan Karachi