Dale Graham, 81, from Burnley, underwent the two and a half hour operation to remove a growth from his stomach at Royal Preston Hospital. He opted to go for this revolutionary new type of procedure rather than the more traditional methods because the robotic system helps surgeons to access tumours more easily and patients tend to recover more quickly.
The operation was carried out by UGI consultants Mr Kishore Pursnani and Mr Paul Turner. It went extremely well and Dale was able to go home after just five days. He said: “My care was absolutely fabulous! I cannot praise the staff at Preston Hospital enough. I didn’t get to see the robot but I’d like to meet him someday.”
Last year, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals became the first hospital in the North of England to secure the latest advanced robotic surgical system to treat patients across the whole of Lancashire and South Cumbria. The funding for the robot is being raised thanks to the launch of a fundraising appeal by the Rosemere Cancer Foundation. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals have since been able to complete multiple UGI surgeries using this most advanced DaVinci Xi robotic system, and other patients have been able to go home within 24 hours. Kishore Pursnani, Clinical Director for UGI at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals said: “We are excited about having the state of the art robot in our hospital which helps us redefine keyhole surgery for upper GI cancers. Although we have been doing traditional keyhole surgery for upper GI cancers in our department for some time now, this will help patients towards quicker recovery in intensive care and perhaps return to normal activities earlier. We will gather more evidence on this and monitor our data to see if the benefits are sustained.”
Our surgeons have travelled around Europe to learn the techniques and uses of the robotic system to make these surgeries happen, as they are not currently widely available anywhere within the UK. Surgery using the robotic system has many benefits for both the patient and the surgeon. The robot can bend and rotate 360 degrees, making it much easier for our surgeons to access parts of the body that are difficult to reach, and undertake complex procedures using keyhole incisions rather than open surgery, reducing the risk of complications and enabling a speedier recovery for the patient.
To donate to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation 20th Anniversary Appeal to help fund the robot please visit www.rosemere.org.uk or call 01772 522913.