Two recipients of the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate, Kent, recently became the first ever to receive them. They were the first to have such surgery using an advanced robotic system. As of earlier this year, the NHS in London began implementing this groundbreaking technology. It’s designed to increase the precision of surgery while reducing recovery time.
Mandy Lee, a colorectal cancer patient, had about 80% of her bowel removed during her surgery on Thursday. After her surgery, she was back home by the next Sunday, declaring that her recovery would go well. “I hadn’t even considered the possibility of robotic surgery, but I just wanted the cancer gone and I wasn’t put off,” Lee remarked.
The surgical team, headed by consultant colorectal and general surgeon Sudhaker Mangam, demonstrated the advantages of robotic surgery with palpable enthusiasm. Neither patient could believe what they were hearing. The system features four separate robotic arms. These robotic arms let surgeons perform surgery from miles away and provide a magnified 3D view into the patient’s body. With this technology, they’re able to be much more precise than state-of-the-art surgical techniques.
Stanley Russell, a 68-year-old local man from Herne Bay, was the second patient to receive this cutting-edge procedure. And he explained that the surgical team walked him through every step. They stressed that this procedure would be less painful than other more invasive operations. “The team explained everything really well and said it would be less painful than going through more invasive surgery, so that made sense to me,” Russell noted.
Both patients’ successful surgeries mark a successful new chapter in the surgical capabilities available to East Kent residents. According to Sudhaker Mangam, “This marks a major advancement in surgical capability for East Kent patients, enabling greater precision, improved outcomes, and faster recovery times.”
With the addition of robotic surgery at QEQM Hospital, they are able to greatly improve the quality of that care. It provides patients with a more convenient, less intimidating environment for complicated procedures. Patients such as Lee and Russell are already enjoying the benefits of this revolutionary technology. As their success stories multiply, so too does excitement for it being used in other surgical fields.