![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/355321.jpg\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\nLONDON, Aug 4 \u2014 Pulling his face away from an immersive 3D headset looking deep inside a patient\u2019s lung, doctor Sasha Stamenkovic recounted the final steps of an operation using robots to remove a tumour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done some very, very intricate operating today,\u201d said the 60-year-old consultant thoracic surgeon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve saved a lot of lung, we\u2019ve gone around some really, really small vessels and really small airways.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was addressing three surgeons from another English hospital observing Stamenkovic using the new da Vinci 5 robotic-assisted surgical system, made by US company Intuitive.<\/p>\n
The equipment will arrive in their operating theatre later this year, part of a drive to increase the use of robotics in keyhole surgery across the UK\u2019s National Health Service.<\/p>\n
Throughout the roughly two-hour operation, Stamenkovic\u2019s instructions echoed through a microphone to his surgical team, which includes nurses specially trained as robotic surgical first assistants.<\/p>\n
As director of robotic surgery and research at Barts Health NHS Trust, he runs fellowships at St Bartholomew\u2019s Hospital in central London, shaping what he says will be the \u201csurgeon of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The government has set a target for robotic assistance to be used in 9 out of 10 keyhole surgeries in England by 2035.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A nurse assists in lung cancer surgery using the new Da Vinci 5 robotic-assisted surgical system at St Bartholomew\u2019s Hospital in London on July 3, 2026. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
\u2018Art form\u2019<\/p>\n
At first glance, the setup looks like a video game. Stamenkovic carried out the operation via a console at the side of the room, his hand movements translating into the actions of three robotic arms holding operating instruments, looming over a patient lying a few metres away.<\/p>\n
A fourth arm holds a camera, providing the 3D stream for the surgeon, as well as two screens in the operating theatre.<\/p>\n
The robotic systems can be used across a range of specialities including urology, gynaecology, colorectal, thoracic, and abdominal or general surgery.<\/p>\n
Ali Ansaripour, a senior cardiothoracic trainee on a year-long fellowship, is one of the doctors under his wing.<\/p>\n
\u201cStepping away\u201d from the patient and adjusting to this setup was the \u201cbiggest challenge\u201d, Ansaripour said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that almost kind of separates you from the patient slightly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it gives you incredible vision and makes you very objective in terms of how you deal with the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the futuristic appearance, Stamenkovic argued robotics has actually returned keyhole surgery closer to \u201chow the original open surgery used to be\u201d.<\/p>\n
This is because the slim robotic arms can move more easily than humans holding tools inside the restricted space of a keyhole surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobotic surgery has brought you back to what surgeons wanted to do, which was to have an art form able to create something with their hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The greater precision also reduces the risk of complications like air leaks, a common cause of longer hospital stays following lung surgery.<\/p>\n
![\"Surgeon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/355323.jpg\" "\\"Surgeon")
<\/p>\n
Surgeon and director of robotic surgery Sasha Stamenkovic (far right) performs lung cancer surgery using the new Da Vinci 5 robotic-assisted surgical system at St Bartholomew\u2019s Hospital in London on July 3, 2026. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
Recovery<\/p>\n
This more precise surgery within a smaller wound should mean a shorter hospital stay and recovery time.<\/p>\n
For an overstretched public health service, the hope is patients will leave hospitals sooner, freeing up bed space and reducing waiting lists.<\/p>\n
Ian Macleod \u201cdidn\u2019t realise\u201d until he was wearing a surgical gown and about to be anaesthetised that he would be the first patient in the NHS to undergo lung cancer surgery using the new system.<\/p>\n
The 76-year-old retired detective said the news \u201cdidn\u2019t faze\u201d him, and he was back on his feet 30 minutes after returning to the ward.<\/p>\n
The recovery was \u201cextraordinary,\u201d said Macleod.<\/p>\n
He had undergone non-robotic keyhole surgery for a different cancer in the past, and says that recovery time was \u201cmuch longer\u201d.<\/p>\n
Leaving hospital with just one stitch this time, he was driving his wife to the garden centre for coffee less than a week later.<\/p>\n
Training<\/p>\n
The government highlighted robotics as one of five \u201cbig bets\u201d in a 10-year health plan for England.<\/p>\n
But the Royal College of Nursing has slammed the existence of a \u201cpostcode lottery\u201d in the availability of the surgery in different parts of the country.<\/p>\n
The body also criticised the lack of a \u201cstandard, consistent funding model\u201d for robotics across the NHS, which has left some hospitals relying on charitable donations to fund the equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to embed robotics into training programmes,\u201d said Stamenkovic.<\/p>\n
Young surgeons in training who are not yet at the consultant level tend to be \u201cmore adept\u201d than older counterparts, says Stamenkovic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we need to do is harness their energy, their passion, their skill set, and teach them the right moves.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON, Aug 4 \u2014 Pulling his face away from an immersive 3D headset looking deep inside a patient\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[245855,245854,103,397,396,245857,61,60,245852,245856,245853],"class_list":["post-582563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-barts-health-nhs-trust","tag-da-vinci-5-system","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ian-macleod","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lung-cancer-surgery","tag-robotic-surgery-uk","tag-sasha-stamenkovic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}