Dr Tarandeep Singh Gill — MS Ortho, MCh Ortho
Director – Joint Replacement & Robotic Surgery · RoboLens FT3D Pioneer · Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali
India has several centres performing robotic knee surgery. What’s rarer is a surgeon who performs a specific variant — FT3D resurfacing with real-time intraoperative imaging — and has done so at sufficient volume to have refined the technique beyond its initial learning curve. That describes one person in North India.
Why Specialisation in a Single Technique Matters
There is a substantial literature on surgeon volume and outcomes in joint replacement. The relationship isn’t perfectly linear, but the principle holds: surgeons who perform a procedure frequently get better results than those who perform it occasionally. The margin for error in robotic knee resurfacing is smaller than in total replacement — the components are fitted to specific compartments with narrower tolerances, and the precision of execution matters more.
A surgeon who performs 10 robotic resurfacing cases per year accumulates learning slowly. One who performs 80–100 cases per year refines technique, adapts to anatomical variation, and develops the intraoperative judgment that can’t be taught in a course. Dr Gill is at the latter end of that spectrum, with over 500 FT3D procedures at Max Hospital Mohali.
Why Patients Travel from Across North India
Patients who research FT3D specifically arrive at the same conclusion: the technique is available in Mohali, and the surgeon who pioneered it in North India is there. The travel from Delhi is 4–5 hours by road or 50 minutes by air. From Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar — 2–3 hours by road. From Jammu — 4–5 hours. From Shimla, Solan, Dharamshala — 3–5 hours depending on the route.
Patients make this journey because the alternative — having a different robotic system or conventional surgery elsewhere — is a different outcome, not the same outcome at a closer location. When you’ve done the reading on what FT3D specifically offers, and why its intraoperative imaging approach differs from CT-based planning, travelling to the specialist who does it well starts to make clear sense.
What to Expect on a First Visit from Out of Town
The first appointment is 30–45 minutes: clinical examination, standing weight-bearing X-ray if you don’t have recent imaging, and a direct conversation about whether FT3D resurfacing is the right option for your specific knee. Not everyone who comes in is a suitable candidate — the consultation will tell you clearly whether you are, and what the alternatives look like if not.
Most out-of-city patients combine the consultation and the pre-operative workup (blood tests, ECG) into a single visit. That reduces the number of trips to two before surgery: consultation and pre-op combined, then admission for the procedure itself. Call +91-82880 15106 or book at tsgillortho.com/appointment to start the process.
