First robot abdomen surgery 'milestone'

A hospital has carried out the first robot-assisted surgery of its kind in the East of England in a procedure likened to "open heart surgery for the abdomen".

Two patients from Cambridgeshire and Norfolk underwent the Whipple's procedure at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (CUH) said it was the first time the pancreaticoduodenectomy had been successfully carried out robotically in the region and was "a milestone" for the hospital.

Both the cancer patients reported "surprise" at their lack of pain and speedy recovery following surgery, the trust said.

The Whipple's procedure involves removing part of the stomach, small bowel, head of the pancreas, bile duct and gall bladder to treat malignant tumours, before then rejoining the remaining parts.

It has been likened to open heart surgery for the abdomen in terms of technical difficulty.

CUH, which runs Addenbrooke's, said it was "the most complex robotic procedure since the introduction of robot-assisted surgery at [the trust] more than a decade ago".

Patients Jia-Ling Ellis, 74, from Norwich and Jane Gardner from Cambourne, in Cambridgeshire, both underwent the robotic-assisted surgery to treat ampullary cancer (cancer at the bottom of the bile duct).

Both are now receiving preventive chemotherapy treatment.

Each operation took about eight hours and required two consultant surgeons jointly operating the robotic consoles.

The trust said: "The milestone surgeries follow months of intense training and meticulous planning by teams at CUH to safely prepare for the procedures.

"Surgeons Mr Siong-Seng Liau and Mr Simon Harper completed additional robotic surgery courses, perioperative theatre staff did additional training."

A small team travelled to Amsterdam to observe live robotic Whipple procedures at a hospital specialising in complex pancreatic surgery.

The trust added: "As the only centre in the East of England specialising in surgery of the liver, pancreas and bile ducts, performing a robotic Whipple's procedure is a milestone for the region."

Carried out traditionally, surgery of this kind usually requires several months of recovery.

Following her referral to Addenbrooke's and subsequent surgery, Ellis, a retired healthcare support worker, said: "Once home, I was surprised that I didn't need to take many painkillers.

"My recovery has been brilliant - it's been wonderful to get back to some gardening. I feel so grateful for how smoothly everything went."

Meanwhile, Gardner said: "I woke up from surgery to be told I'd made history by being one of the first to have this major operation performed robotically.

"I was expecting to feel more discomfort once home, but I found I wasn't needing pain relief and have enjoyed getting back to walking the dogs."

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