A new multi-million-pound surgical robot installed at a Kent hospital has been used to operate on cancer patients.
It is hoped that the new kit at QEQM in Margate – which has four arms controlled remotely by a surgeon – will enable “greater precision, improved outcomes, and faster recovery times”.
A multi-million-pound surgical robot has been installed at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate. Picture: EKHUFT
Grandmother Mandy Lee was the first to have a robotic procedure using the system, named Hugo, and said she was hugely grateful to medical teams for their care.
She was diagnosed with bowel cancer after a routine screening.
The 58-year-old from Whitstable said: “I just can’t thank the teams enough.
“I feel very lucky – the bowel screening kit came through the post the day before I moved, so one day later it could have been a very different story.
“I cannot stress how important it is for you to do the bowel screening test as soon as you receive this. It is delivered by post, it’s easy and only takes a minute to do, and you return it by post, simple.”
Mandy Lee, from Whitstable, was the first patient to have a robotic procedure using the system at QEQM in Margate. Picture: EKHUFT
Ms Lee had experienced some symptoms but had dismissed them as stress. But when the screening detected blood, she had a colonoscopy, which discovered a small growth known as a polyp, later confirmed to be cancerous.
She said: “The consultant, Mr Mangam, said I needed surgery to remove part of my bowel and that they would like to use the new robot.
“He reassured me it was used elsewhere in Europe with really good results, and was less invasive, and said they would be flying in an expert to oversee the surgery.
“It was a bit of a scary thought, I hadn’t even considered the possibility of robotic surgery, but I just wanted the cancer gone and I wasn’t put off.”
Retired plasterer Stanley Russell, from Herne Bay, was the second patient to have a robotic procedure at QEQM, after the routine screening test detected blood in his stool.
Retired plasterer Stanley Russell, from Herne Bay, was the second patient to have a robotic procedure at QEQM. Picture: EKHUFT
Further investigations revealed a polyp, which was later found to be cancerous, so surgeons removed part of his bowel.
The 68-year-old grandad said: “The team explained everything really well, and said it would be less painful than going through more invasive surgery, so that made sense to me.
“I had the operation on a Thursday, and went home on the Sunday, and I’m feeling better every day.
“The bowel screening test isn’t much fun to do, but it’s really important. I had no symptoms at all, and I felt completely fine, so without it I wouldn’t have known, and it could have been another few years before it was found.”
The Hugo robot was first used by the NHS at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital in 2023.
The surgical team behind the new robot at QEQM in Margate. Picture: EKHUFT
Although East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) teams have used da Vinci robots at Kent and Canterbury Hospital for 15 years, this is the first time colorectal robotic surgery has been possible at the trust.
The surgeon has a 3D view inside the patient’s body as he operates thanks to a camera on one of the arms.
The other arms are used for surgical tools, and patients are left with keyhole scars.
Consultant colorectal and general surgeon Mr Sudhaker Mangam, who led the procedures with consultant general surgeon Mr Joseph Sebastian, said it was a significant milestone for the team.
“This marks a major advancement in surgical capability for east Kent patients, enabling greater precision, improved outcomes, and faster recovery times,” he said.
“I am very grateful to Sister Kelly Morgan and the wider theatre and perioperative teams for their outstanding support in ensuring this was a positive experience for our patients.
“The introduction of robotics means we can offer people minimally invasive procedures, which means less pain, shorter hospital stays, and a faster return to their normal activities.”
The NHS National Cancer Plan pledges to increase the amount of robotic surgery for cancer patients, up from 70,000 a year to half a million by 2035.