Op that spares breast patients big scars

By Ethan Ennals

BREAST cancer surgery patients could soon escape chest scars thanks to a pioneering new operation which involves removing the tissue through a five-inch incision in the armpit.

The high-tech procedure is currently only available in the

US, but experts believe it could soon be available on the NHS.

In recent years, robotic surgery has allowed clinicians to carry out complicated procedures through small holes in the skin, leaving patients with just little scars.

But this armpit procedure, which also allows patients to keep their nipple after breast surgery, has been deemed too complicated to perform using available robots.

However, a new surgical gadget called a Da Vinci single port could change this.

The device, which was used for the first time in the UK last month, is a thin tube with two miniature cameras and two surgical tools on its head.

Crucially, it is small – and dexterious – enough that it can be inserted through the armpit and threaded into the breast, where it can remove cancerous tissue. It can then be used to reconstruct the shape of the breast.

Around 56,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. One in four will need surgery to remove cancer tissue or the entire breast – a procedure known as a mastectomy.

A US study, published in January, found that the using the Da Vinci single port device to carry out a mastectomy through the armpit was safe and effective.

Experts say the device can help treat a number of other serious medical conditions.

Surgeons at London Bridge Hospital – which treats both private and NHS patients – have already used the Da Vinci single port to treat patients with complicated bladder and kidney problems.

Mr Ben Challacombe, a consultant urological surgeon, was among the first to use the gadget, and described it as ‘a paradigm shift for surgery’.

‘You can perform complicated surgery pretty much anywhere in the body and patients are left with one small scar.

‘We’ve already treated kidney and bladder patients, and breast cancer patients could soon benefit too. This would allow them to avoid scarring and keep their nipple.’

‘Gadget is a paradigm shift for surgery’