Guildford's Royal Surrey first in UK to perform triple robotic surgery on cancer patients
"Computer assisted surgery will become the norm..."
The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust has become the first in the UK to use surgical robots to operate on three cancer patients at the same time.
Separate teams at the hospital in Guildford used the technology last week (12 March) in neighbouring theatres.
They performed two cystectomys (bladder removals) and one combined cystectomy and total pelvic exenteration (rectal surgery) on the three patients using the Da Vinci robots which are mostly used for cancer surgeries.
The Trust says the benefits for patients can include reduced trauma to the operating site, thanks to the miniature instruments of the robots, fewer complications, less blood loss and faster recovery times.
The robots also allow surgeons to have a better view, thanks to their high definition, three-dimensional cameras.
As a specialist cancer centre, Royal Surrey is the only NHS Trust in England to benefit from having four of these machines on one site. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, teams completed around 600 robotic surgeries for patients with cancer and other serious conditions in 2020.
Mr Matthew Perry, Clinical Director of Urology at Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, led the three surgeries: "The future has arrived. Computer assisted surgery will become the norm and we're really proud have the capacity to organise and perform this many life-saving minimally invasive surgeries for the benefit of our patients.
"We often schedule two robotic operations at the same time but decided to undertake this triple surgery when it became apparent that we had another priority patient who needed immediate surgery.
"We would urge anyone with potential cancer symptoms to continue to seek out clinical advice during the pandemic. We will continue to do our best for our patients."
Dr Marianne Illsley, Medical Director, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, said: "As a specialist cancer centre, cancer treatment throughout the Covid pandemic has been a key focus. Thanks to close partnership working across the NHS and private sector, and the sheer dedication and passion of our teams, we have continued running cancer surgery and treatment throughout, with only very minor disruption.
"We want to reassure patients - this achievement is just one of many innovative moments in this pandemic. We are still here for you and it is safe to see us when you need us."