Record-breaking robotic surgery effort tackles prostate cancer wait list
Surgical teams at Royal Surrey have carried out a world record breaking number of robotically assisted radical prostatectomies in a single day, in a bid to treat prostate cancer patients as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Twelve men, all with prostate cancer, were able to undergo the same procedure on the same day after a team of Trust experts developed a safe but efficient way to maximise the number of prostatectomies (surgery to remove the prostate gland) they can perform.
Back in February the same expert team completed nine procedures in a day, which was a UK first and the equivalent of a week’s worth of patients in a day.
On Saturday 20 May, five surgeons and four theatre teams worked safely and efficiently across three operating theatres to carry out the record breaking number of procedures as part of the Trust’s commitment to reducing waiting times for cancer patients.
Matthew Perry, Consultant Urological Surgeon and Clinical Director of Urology said: “It is testament to the fantastic team that we have here in Guildford that we have been able to achieve this feat. It has involved an incredible amount of planning from many different departments.
Wissam Abou Chedid, Consultant Urological Surgeon involved in the planning of the High Intensity Theatre list said: “Our motivation centres solely on improving the experience of our patients. In a single day we have significantly reduced our waiting list and 12 men who were anxiously awaiting surgery have received the care they need.
“No cases were rushed and the operations themselves took the same amount of time, we were just able to reduce the turnaround time between each patient.”
One of the patients who benefitted from the high intensity theatre list was David Retter, 68, from Winchester, Hampshire. David was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer after visiting his GP for a test that measures the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood.
“The NHS has been fantastic,” said the retired father and grandfather.
“I was expecting that I would have a long wait, but it has all happened really quickly.
“When you hear those words that you have cancer it is scary, but the speed that it has been dealt with has just been incredible.
“It is exciting to be part of something out of the ordinary.”
Royal Surrey is one of the top three Trusts in the country in terms of the number of robotic assisted radical prostatectomies carried out, as well as being a national leader in the field of robotic surgery.
The Trust carried out more than 550 pelvic surgery operations for prostate cancer and bladder cancer in the UK in 2022 and is one of the best performing in the country against nationally set targets.
The trust has three state-of-the-art da Vinci Xi surgical systems. All three systems have dual console technology, which allows surgical trainees to gain hands-on experience of robotic-assisted surgery alongside the established surgeons.