Surgeons in Cornwall have carried out the first procedure using a soft tissue robotic surgical system, which medics have hailed as “a major milestone for patient care” in the county.
The new robotic system operated by surgeons at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust was first used in an operation on 6 July.
James Clark, the trust’s head of surgery who leads the soft tissue robotic surgical programme, said: “It was fantastic for patients that we are able to offer the quality of the best robotic surgery locally, rather than them having to travel out of county.”
He said it allowed surgeons to operate with enhanced precision in small areas of the body which were difficult to reach.
Clark, who controlled the robotic arms from a console, said: “It just enables me to control it with with much greater precision than I would do manually.
“The dexterity that the robot has is far above what a human hand can offer.”
He said it was “a very strange experience” as a surgeon at first.
The team have been training at a robotic centre in Belgium to “learn how to use the system to its best potential”.