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Paul Buxton, a patient with prostate cancer \/ Credit: Family handout\/PA<\/p>\nThe first UK remote robotic surgery has been hailed as a \u201cmilestone\u201d by medics.<\/p>\n
A surgeon in London operated on a patient with prostate cancer who was some 2,400km away in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
The pioneering procedure went \u201cextremely well\u201d, with patient Paul Buxton reporting feeling \u201cfantastic\u201d just four days after the surgery.<\/p>\n
Mr Buxton, who is originally from Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset but moved to Gibraltar 40 years ago, said that it was a \u201cno-brainer\u201d to be involved.<\/p>\n
The 62-year-old told the Press Association that he was happy to be the \u201cguinea pig\u201d patient, saying the operation has taken Gibraltar from the \u201cChampionship to the Champions League\u201d in terms of access to surgery.<\/p>\n
He was operated on by leading robotic urological surgeon Professor Prokar Dasgupta, who told PA the surgery went to plan with a lag of only 0.06 seconds between the surgical tool in London and the robot in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
The professor of urology said that it was \u201calmost as if I was there\u201d when operating on the patient.<\/p>\n
Paul Buxton, a patient with prostate cancer \/ Credit: Family handout\/PA<\/p>\n
Mr Dasgupta said the procedure, the UK\u2019s first remote telesurgery, was a \u201cmilestone\u201d.<\/p>\n
The only hospital in Gibraltar is St Bernard\u2019s at Europort.<\/p>\n
But residents with more complex needs would usually travel further afield, including to the UK for NHS care for those eligible.<\/p>\n
After a shock prostate cancer diagnosis after Christmas, Mr Buxton was expecting to join the NHS waiting list and to travel to England for care.<\/p>\n
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Professor Prokar Dasgupta, who leads The London Clinic\u2019s Robotic Centre of Excellence \/ Credit: Aaron Chown\/PA<\/p>\n
But he was given the opportunity to be the first patient to have the treatment remotely and jumped at the chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people actually said to me: \u2018You\u2019re not going to do it, are you?\u2019\u201d he told PA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, I\u2019m giving something back here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love football \u2013 we\u2019ve literally gone from being in the Championship to the Champions League as far as surgeons are concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Buxton, who owns a transport company, added: \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t gone for the telesurgery in Gibraltar, then I would have had to have flown to London, I would have had to go on the NHS waiting list, get the procedure done and I would have probably been in London for three weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I thought: \u2018this is a no-brainer\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it is pioneering for Gibraltar, because you don\u2019t need to leave Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, any major surgeries, apart from minor stuff, maybe hernias and things like that, you end up having to go to either London or Madrid.\u201d<\/p>\n
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(Aaron Chown\/PA) \/ Credit: Aaron Chown\/PA<\/p>\n
He said he was \u201creally well looked after\u201d adding: \u201cI was feeling fantastic four days after the operation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a privilege to be part of medical history,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mr Dasgupta, who leads The London Clinic\u2019s Robotic Centre of Excellence, said: \u201cThe surgery was a milestone. It went extremely well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe operated on an NHS patient in Gibraltar from The London Clinic 2,400km away using a robot with a 3D HD camera with four arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe robot is completely controlled from a console, which is like a computer console, using high-speed lines with a time delay of, would you believe it, only 0.06 seconds, that 60 milliseconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
A team on the ground in Gibraltar was standing ready to take over as a precaution in case the connection dropped.<\/p>\n
The London Clinic and Gibraltar Health Authority collaborated on the project, and the Toumai Robotic System, made by Microport, was used to perform the operation.<\/p>\n
Mr Dasgupta said that patients in remote areas do not always have access to the best healthcare.<\/p>\n
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The team used the Toumai Robotic System \/ Credit: Aaron Chown\/PA<\/p>\n
The remote robotic surgery means that patients can be saved the \u201cvast expense and inconvenience\u201d of travelling for care, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis gives us the opportunity to treat patients in remote areas and smaller communities by literally being able to take the best surgeon anywhere,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe technology now exists to provide this benefit to patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Buxton was the first of two test cases and had his procedure on February 11. The first \u201cofficial\u201d surgery took place on Wednesday March 4.<\/p>\n
On March 4, Mr Dasgupta performed another prostatectomy \u2013 a surgical removal of the prostate \u2013 on an unnamed 52-year-old man, also in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the surgery on March 4, Mr Dasgupta told PA: \u201cThis is a historic moment \u2013 the first telesurgery procedure from The London Clinic to Gibraltar, 2,400 kilometres away. Unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt went very well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used a robot and a very specialised connection between London to Gibraltar didn\u2019t fail at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe time delay between the two sides fools my brain into thinking I\u2019m in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very good news for patients in Gibraltar and other remote areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI think it is very, very exciting, the humanitarian benefit is going to be significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The console in the UK was connected to the robot in Gibraltar via fibre optics, with a backup 5G connection.<\/p>\n
Mr Dasgupta will perform the procedure again on March 14, which will be live-streamed to 20,000 world-leading urological surgeons at the European Association of Urology congress.<\/p>\n
Al Russell, chief executive at The London Clinic, said: \u201cThe London Clinic is proud to be part of medical history and we have a strong reputation for medical firsts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope more patients will be able to benefit from this incredible medical breakthrough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gibraltar minister for health, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, added: \u201cThis is a landmark moment for the Gibraltar Health Authority and for our patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo deliver a complex procedure in Gibraltar with the operating surgeon based in London shows how technology, investment and the expertise of our clinicians are transforming healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n
The surgery was supported global technology services provider, Presidio.<\/p>\n
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