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Robot surgeon revolutionises cancer surgery

11:09am Thursday 18th October 2007

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He has the steadiest of hands, is immune from human error and never drinks while on call.

Say hello to da Vinci S, a pioneering surgeon proving to be a cut above the rest at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

The £2million robotic device, with tweezer-like hands and a designer Italian name, is revolutionising the treatment of prostate cancer sufferers in Sutton.

Instead of being cut open, patients now have four tiny incisions made in their abdomen, through which the rotatable robotic arms are inserted.

Doctors sit with the patient in front of a screen and manoeuvre the arms from an enclosed console, like something off the Starship Enterprise.

The extended vision and magnification of the robotic surgeon gives them more than 1,000 times the accuracy of the human hand when removing cancerous prostate glands.

A Royal Marsden spokesman said: "At more than 6ft, da Vinci is an impressive looking machine, which is designed to perform complex operations through smaller incisions.

"What makes da Vinci truly special is its ability to cut and manipulate tissue in the same way that a surgeon carrying out open surgery would do, but through a tiny hole.

"The robot will support the further development of minimally invasive surgical techniques at the Royal Marsden, resulting in a quicker recovery and a shorter stay in hospital."

Da Vinci S, with running costs of £100,000 a year, is the most technologically advanced robotic surgery system in the world.

It was originally intended to allow surgeons to conduct operations on wounded soldiers from a safe place away from the battlefield. There are only five similar machines in the UK.


Your Say YourSutton Guardian

John Markham, San Diego, Calif, US says...
6:01am Sun 28 Oct 07

I had my cancerous prostate gland removed just over two years ago. At that time, the hospital had just gotten its new da Vinci robot, the first in this city. Fortunately, I was a candidate for the surgery. Recovery time is shortened and I have just a few little marks on my abdomen from the incisions. Urinary continence returned with a few weeks. Sexual response is somewhat diminished, but is not absent. This is a major advance for medicine; the use of Da Vinci is being expanded into other types of surgery.

Best wishes,
John

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