New surgery robot at Ipswich Hospital will treat cancer patients
The £2.5m DaVinci machine will allow more accurate keyhole surgery
Robotic surgery is being used at Ipswich Hospital to help treat patients with cancer.
A new £2.5m surgical robot called DaVinci has now been installed at the hospital, after being rolled out at Colchester Hospital 18 momnths ago.
The machine allows complex cancer operations to be carried out using a technique called 'keyhole surgery', which is less invasive than traditional surgical methods.
It leaves patients with less pain post-operation and helps to speed up recovery time, while reducing the risk of complications.
The Ipswich machine will initially be used for bowel cancer cases, but will expand to treat gynaecological cancers within the next few months.
Surgeon Arshad Malik has already treated several patients using the machine. He said: “We are delighted that robotic technology has now been introduced at Ipswich following an extremely successful launch in Colchester.
“The robot allows surgeons to carry out complex operations using a camera and small incisions which are each less than one centimetre long.
"As a result, patients have less pain and recover sooner, while one of our first patients was able to return home after just 17 hours, which is amazing.
“As the robot is so precise, we are able to remove an additional layer of lymph nodes and tissues around the cancerous tissues, in turn improving patient outcomes and survival rates for colonic cancer compared to traditional surgery.
"It is also incredibly stable, which makes complex surgery easier and means the surgeon is less tired after a long operation."