Dr Horatio Ashbun, vice-president of the trust, told the press that the machine would soon be made operational and it would go a long way in replacing the conventional methodology of operating on a human body.

``This method will allow patients to escape painful pre- and post-operative phases,'' he said. Explaining the laparoscopy technique, he said doctors created a small hole in the body, through which a fibre optic was directed to the affected part.

``Later, the surgical instruments are inserted through another hole and the surgery is carried out without effecting large cuts on the bodies,'' Dr Ashbun said.

The American doctor has used this technique in seven surgeries he conducted at the SSG hospital since Wednesday. He also gave lectures to the SSG doctors on effective utilisation of the machines.

He said that the trust would seek a follow-up report from the local doctors on the maintenance and usage of the machine so that there was optimum utilisation of machinery.

Dr Ashbun and Dr Sanjay Pandit of Rotary club announced that since the machine had been routed through the Vadodara-based Rotary club of Jawaharnagar, it was their responsibility to ensure that the machine was utilised properly.

Dr Ashbun's associate Dr Naranbhai Patel, who also addressed the press conference, said that the installation of the machine would help the needy and poor patients of Vadodara. When asked whether the poor patients could afford the cost of surgery through this method he said that since the SSG Hospital was a government hospital it could be provided free of cost.