In this incredible medical milestone, Professor Prokar Dasgupta became the first medical professional to perform a long-distance robotic surgery in the UK, on February 11, 2014. The upcoming operation took place 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) away in Gibraltar. There, Paul Buxton, a 62-year-old prostate cancer victim, proudly became the first person to receive this exciting new treatment.
That first-of-its-kind procedure used the Toumai Robotic System, which allowed Professor Dasgupta to perform a prostate removal from a distance. This operation occurred during a clinical trial. The purpose of this trial was to understand how telesurgery could better serve patients who have difficulty accessing timely surgical care.
Paul Buxton, from Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, has lived in Gibraltar for the past 40 years. He got a life changing diagnosis of prostate cancer just after Christmas. He expected to be put on an NHS waiting list for further treatment. Rather than being discouraged, he “leapt at the opportunity” to join the trial and help bring robotic surgery closer to his home.
Linking the surgical console in the UK to the robotic system in Gibraltar depended on world-class fibre-optic cables. A redundant 5G link helped to keep the connection live during the complex procedure. A team of medical professionals in Gibraltar stood by during the operation to address any potential connectivity issues, but fortunately, no interruptions occurred.
When it was all over, Paul Buxton shared more positive comments about the experience.
“I was really well looked after and I’m feeling fantastic,” – Paul Buxton
Yet he was acutely aware of the remarkable promise behind this remote surgery technology. Without it, he would need to travel to London, get on the NHS waiting list, and potentially be three weeks out of home.
“If I hadn’t gone for the telesurgery in Gibraltar, then I would have had to have flown to London… and I would have probably been in London for three weeks,” – Paul Buxton
In this sort of step-by-step robotic approach, Professor Dasgupta said the experience of performing this operation was extraordinary. He said, “It was like I was there without being there. This shows us how well technology and innovation is embedded into current modern medicine. The success of this procedure paves the way for general adoption of more complex operations through analogous techniques.
Looking forward, Professor Dasgupta is due to carry out his second robotic surgery on 14 March. This complex operation will be live-streamed to an audience of 20,000 urological surgeons watching from the European Association of Urology congress.
Buxton’s is only the first such case. The second test operation on a 52 year-old patient is planned for March 4th in Gibraltar. Gibraltar also has only one hospital, St Bernard’s at Europort. In turn, residents are left to cope with serious and sometimes life-threatening medical conditions while being forced to seek care overseas.