Surgeons at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford deployed Intuitive’s Da Vinci robotic system in some 600 procedures last year, following the acquisition of two new solutions by the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.
The robots have been predominantly used for cancer surgeries, and in particular, prostate, bladder and gynae-oncology procedures.
Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust now has four of the systems, including one used for training, to enable surgeons who specialise in different cancers, such as bowel, liver and throat cancer, to start undertaking robotic procedures.
Patient benefits can include reduced trauma to the operating site due to the miniature instruments of the robots, fewer complications, less blood loss and faster recovery times.
Matthew Perry, clinical director of urology, Royal Surrey Hospital, said: “We have seen lengths of stay halved after a robotic surgery, compared to conventional surgery – for example after a bladder cancer operation, a patient might expect to stay in hospital for two weeks, but using robotic surgery this is more likely to mean a stay of five days.”
During the first wave of the pandemic, Perry’s team took the decision to move its services to a dedicated theatre within a protected area. According to Perry, this enabled the team’s to continue working with the robotic solution.
