Liverpool University Hospitals (LUHFT) in Fazakerley have procured a £2m surgical robotic arm after a donation from Liverpool football star Sir Kenny Dalglish and his wife Marina via the Marina Dalglish Appeal (MDA).
The arm, designed to support cancer treatments, allows surgeons to perform procedures with precision in confined spaces, thereby minimising the necessity for extensive invasive surgeries and potentially expediting the recovery process for individuals with head and neck cancers.
MDA provided a million-pound donation for the robot, which was supplemented by contributions from the hospital trust.
Funding was used to acquire the Da Vinci Single Port (SP) surgical system, which is reportedly already helping skilled surgeons in their patient care efforts at the hospital.
Jason Fleming, a consultant head and neck surgeon at LUHFT, praised the technological advancement, emphasising its suitability for oral procedures. He said: “This next generation robot is really tailor made for operating through the mouth. So it’s going to help us reach more tumours in difficult to reach areas of the head and neck and therefore offer a minimally invasive surgical approach to more patients.
“Tumours of the throat (tonsils and back of tongue) are rising globally, but especially in North West England, with smoking and human papillomavirus (HPV) exposure as major causes.
“In Liverpool we have a long record of pioneering minimally invasive surgery, but now with the addition of the da Vinci SP, we will be able to offer the latest technology to a region with the greatest need.”
Dave Pope, a 65-year-old patient from Frodsham in Cheshire, was one of the first to be operated on by the robot, praised the fast recovery times associated with the device.
