Fifty-four-year-old Nick Samiotis of Norfolk couldn’t be more pleased with his recent robotic-assisted surgery. He describes it as a “miracle” after he was given a scary oesophageal cancer diagnosis just days before his birthday in August. The diagnosis, as similar as it sounded to what she had experienced, still hit like a bolt from the blue, Samiotis said. Prior to the surgery, he received six weeks of chemotherapy in order to shrink the tumor. This treatment set him up for a twelve-hour operation that would eventually give him his life back.
The meticulously choreographed surgical procedure, conducted by specialist surgeon Nicholas Penney, required a combination of cutting edge robotic technology, manual incisions and finesse. Penney, who’s trained in robotics, pointed out that with this kind of technology, you can do a much cleaner operation with less complexity.
“What’s compounded is that the movements we create are miniaturized,” Penney expressed. We can wiggle the controls as much as we whip our hands around, and it all stays super smooth. That creative solution created dramatically less trauma to Samiotis’s body, allowing him to achieve a much faster recovery.
Samiotis had very little keyhole scarring from the surgery. To everyone’s amazement, just nine days after the procedure, he was able to return to walking his dog! He is forever grateful for how far medical technology has come. He stressed that had he gone through the same procedure three years earlier, it likely would not have been.
“My family are massively relieved I’ve come through the operation and I’m standing 10 days later,” said Samiotis.
Wearing a black t-shirt and a black wristwatch, Samiotis opened up about his recovery. He noted the benefits of the robotic surgery: “It’s a lot less trauma to the body so your recovery period is much reduced. Otherwise, you’d have to go in and cut this big old scar down the side… it takes them a lot longer to heal.”
Samiotis has made it through surgery and is on the mend. Today, his biggest hurdle is the transition to a full liquid diet and then to soft foods, due to the new smaller size of his stomach. Now, he’s looking forward with hope into the future, and he’ll continue to be grateful that his wife and son have supported him throughout this journey.
“I would tell my past self not to worry,” Samiotis remarked, reflecting on his experience.
Resilience was the name of the game on stage as his daughter reinforced his own message, “You’ve got to be positive, he’s a fighter. She had an immediate sense of relief after watching her father’s rapid healing. Within days post-op, he was quickly returned to doing what a normal 4-year-old does.
“I feel quite amazing… as soon as I’ve finished here, I’m off to take the dog for a walk!” Samiotis stated enthusiastically.