Pioneering surgeons lead the way with Fort patient

In a pioneering medical first for Scotland, Fort William lung cancer patient Allison Kane has benefited from a minimally invasive surgical technique which allowed her to recover faster and get home sooner.

Surgeons at the NHS Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank have continued to provide urgent heart, lung and cancer care throughout the coronavirus pandemic and have now used a Da Vinci Surgical Robot to perform Complex Sleeve Lobectomies for patients with lung cancer.

The procedure, also known as a Sleeve Lobectomy, involves removing part of the lung and lymph glands around it.

Part of a blood vessel or airway with the tumour growing in it is also removed and the remaining ends connected back together. This allows the tumour near the middle to be

Allison Kane, who underwent pioneering surgery.

removed, without the need to remove the entire lung.

Lung surgeon Mr Rocco Bilancia told the Lochaber Times: ‘Traditionally, an operation like this would require a large incision to be made, but

Lung surgeon Mr Rocco Bilancia who performed Allison’s surgery.

using the DaVinci robot allows us to carry out this procedure using highly accurate keyhole surgery, where only very small cuts are made to the body.

‘This way of operating, which has only been attempted a few times in the UK, is extremely safe and patients benefit hugely from this type of procedure as it means far less pain post operatively, lower risk of complications and a faster recovery time compared with conventional surgery.’

The first patient in Scotland to benefit from this new technique, Allison had the robotic lobectomy carried out after being diagnosed with a benign tumour.

Allison, 55, who works with Care Lochaber, had the operation towards the end of October 2020 and told the Lochaber Times: ‘My recovery has been so good and the wounds have healed so well that I’ve been able to get back to painting furniture and running around after my five-year-old grandson Oliver.

‘I’m a little bit tired and a little bit sore but I can really feel the benefit of having the robotic surgery. I feel great, absolutely great.’

Using traditional lung surgery, patients would normally be in hospital for up to six days, or five using innovative video-assisted thoracic surgery. With the assistance of robotics, patients can now go home after four days.

The robot works by inserting rods into the patient which are operated by the surgeon seated at the control pod. Its articulated instruments can bend and rotate better and with more precision than a human can, allowing the surgeon to operate with a steady natural motion, causing less trauma.

Surgeons have used the DaVinci Surgical Robot to perform complex lung cancer surgery for more than two years, with 300 patients benefiting so far.

Allison, who prior to the operation was out in the community picking up prescriptions and shopping for vulnerable people when the coronavirus lockdown hit, also works for Voluntary Action Lochaber for 10 hours a week.

Speaking about her tumour she said: ‘It was classed as a type of lung cancer – carcinoid tumour – but was benign. If not caught, it could have turned nasty the surgeon said. He managed to remove it all.

‘The surgeon was amazing. They showed me a video of the robot with him in a wee cubicle separate from it the night before my op.

‘It’s absolutely amazing they can do this.

‘I honestly don’t feel like I’ve had any of my lung removed now. Fitness is nearly back to normal – walking up hills without getting breathless. I wouldn’t be anywhere near this level of healing if it had been open chest surgery.’

To watch the video, www.lochabertimes.co.uk

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