Prostate surgery, 2017
How amazing robot operated by doctor at a computer has saved 500 lives
ROBOTS are often vilified for taking jobs from human workers and replacing skilled tradesmen.
But this one – known as Da Vinci – is hard at work saving lives… with the help of a surgeon.
More than 500 men with prostate cancer have had groundbreaking surgery at the ‘hands’ of the robot.
It is being trialled at University College London Hospitals, and is quicker, safer and causes fewer side effects than traditional operations.
The robot, controlled by a surgeon at a computer console, has six arms with tiny scissors and pliers which make incisions in the patient’s abdomen.
They are able to remove small sections of tissue and glands affected by the cancer without making a large cut, as in ‘ open surgery.’ This means the patient recovers much more quickly and can go home the next day, unlike conventional surgery, where patients can remain in hospital for five days or longer.
Furthermore, as the robot is so precise, it is less likely to damage surrounding tissue. This means that men are much less likely to suffer common side effects such as incontinence and impotence.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men, and one in eight will develop it at some point during their lifetime.
There are 46,700 new cases in the UK a year and approximately 11,300 deaths.
It is very difficult to predict whether the tumours are aggressive and deadly or slow-growing and relatively harmless. As a result, many men have surgery to remove tumours just in case and are left with debilitating side effects.
Professor John Kelly, clinical lead for urology at Westmoreland Street hospital, part of UCLH, said: ‘Although [conventional] surgery removes the cancerous tumour, patients are left with lifechanging after-effects like incontinence and impotence. ‘Robotic surgery has changed that – it gives us the precision to remove the cancerous tumour, preserving the tissues and functions around it. It gives men their lives back after prostate cancer.’ Greg Shaw, a consultant urological surgeon who performs three robotic operations a day, said: ‘We are at the start of this technology. It’s only going to get better.’
Doctors hope the procedure will be rolled out to other hospitals across England, helping hundreds of other men. The hospital’s two Da Vinci robots are in use six days a week and could double the number of operations carried out.
David Ferris, 66, a political researcher who lives in London, had the procedure earlier this month. Earlier this year, doctors said he had a prostate cancer that was growing very fast.
‘I was told the two options were either to have the prostate removed or that I could have radiation and hormone treatment,’ Mr Ferris said.
He added that he was ‘very comfortable’ to have the procedure and went home the following day.
‘It’s only going to get better’