27/05/2026
History was made yesterday.
On May 26, 2026, Guyana stepped into a new era in medicine and positioned itself at the forefront of global healthcare innovation.
Under the leadership and vision of President Irfaan Ali and Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, Guyana participated in what may now represent the longest-distance cardiac telesurgery ever performed anywhere in the world.
At 6:00 AM, world-renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Sudhir Srivastava, Founder of SS Innovations, remotely performed a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft on a patient in India, while operating from Guyana using the SSI Mantra 3 robotic surgical system.
Nearly 20,000 kilometres separated the surgeon from the patient.
Yet the operation was performed in real time, proving that in modern medicine, expertise no longer has to travel, only connectivity.
The procedure in India was supported on-site by Dr Lalit Malik and Dr Mohit Bhandari, while in Guyana, the initiative was coordinated through the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation with support from Robbie Rambaran, Dr Navindranauth Rambaran, Dr Mahendra Carpen and an outstanding multidisciplinary team of local and international professionals.
But history did not stop there.
Following the landmark telesurgery, Guyanese surgeons trained in robotic surgery in India successfully performed a local robotic inguinal hernia repair, demonstrating that Guyana is not simply witnessing innovation but is building the local expertise to lead it.
The procedure was led by Dr Hemraj Ramcharran with support from Dr Bibi Hussain and Dr Jagnanand Ramnarine.
The Guyanese team trained in India also included Dr Rajendra Sukhraj, Dr Radha Sookraj, Dr Padmini Singh, Devonna Bowman, Naiomi Roopnarain, Dervin Bennett, and Imran Ali, representing a new generation of surgeons, operating room technicians, and biomedical specialists now pioneering robotic surgery in Guyana.
Then came another defining moment.
Dr Sudhir Srivastava went on to perform Guyana’s first local robotic cardiac surgery, a robotic Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) repair for a patient with a congenital heart condition affecting the wall separating the upper chambers of the heart.
Supporting the procedure were Guyanese cardiac and vascular specialists Dr Gary Stevens, Dr Avlon Jeffrey, Dr Pradeep Ramkoomar, and Dr Eric, alongside anesthesiologists Dr Tiffany Fiedkou and Dr Fernando, with Sister Knights serving as Nurse in Charge of the Main Operating Theatre.
Behind the scenes, critical technical and operational support was provided by Timothy Melville, IT Manager at GPHC, Harif Zakira, Facilities Coordinator at GPHC, and the technical team from E-Networks, ensuring the highly complex digital infrastructure functioned seamlessly.
The visiting Indian technical and clinical support team included Suraj Dwivedi, Manish, Avinesh Singh, Vilayat Ali, Mohit Tripathi, and Shivam Bhat, while international coordination was led by Dr Vishwah Srivastava, CEO of SS Innovations, and Dr Parul Shukla, Chairman of the Robotic Council of Guyana.
Local coordination was supported by Dr Ramsurijee Ramroop and the new GPC team, whose efforts helped make this historic achievement possible.
This moment represents far more than a technological breakthrough.
It is a glimpse into the future of healthcare, where robotics, telemedicine, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and international collaboration can bring world-class expertise directly to patients, regardless of geography.
Yesterday, Guyana showed the world that even a small state can stand at the cutting edge of global medicine when vision, partnership, and investment in people come together.
The future of surgery is no longer coming.
It is here.
And Guyana is helping to shape it.
