Urological Malignancies Lead Professor Grant Stewart is one of five clinicians featured in a new fundraising campaign by Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust (ACT) to raise £1.5 million in donations to fund a second surgical robot.
For some Addenbrooke's patients, surgery looks like this; the surgeon sitting at a console, using a screen, handheld controllers and foot pedals to operate from the other side of theatre.
A surgical robot can help patients recover from surgery faster by facilitating 'keyhole' surgery, offering greater vision, precision and control for surgeons. Smaller incisions mean reduced risk of complications and infection, smaller scars, and less pain for patients. According to ACT, following robot-assisted surgery, patients can be discharged "within a matter of days, not weeks."
The hospital currently has one robot dedicated to kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer patients. The additional robot will be used in six specialities including urology, gynae-oncology, gynaecology, lower GI (gastrointestinal tract), ENT (ear, nose and throat) and HPB (Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary).
Professor Stewart said, "A surgical robot increases my range of motion and gives me better visualisation during surgery. This allows me be more precise when removing a tumour, meaning I can leave more healthy tissue untouched and all whilst doing the operation through tiny ‘keyhole’ incisions meaning more rapid recovery. My colleagues from across surgery and I want more patients to benefit from robot-assisted surgery."
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