£1.7m surgical robot has performed 250 operations at Northampton General Hospital

A state-of-the-art surgical robot has now been used to perform 250 life-saving cancer operations to help improve care for cancer patients.

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group – which runs Northampton and Kettering general hospitals – has invested in the £1.7m Surgical Robot as part of its clinical strategy.

The first 250 operations have included urology, colorectal, head and neck and gynaecological procedures.

Mr Hemant Nemade, Medical Director and Consultant Urological Surgeon at Northampton General Hospital is using the new robot to carry out cancer surgery for Northamptonshire residents.

He said: “Surgical robots have great benefits for patients. They enable us to carry out difficult surgeries in hard-to-reach areas, with better outcomes for patients and shorter stays in hospital.

“The robot doesn’t carry out the operation – surgeons use the robot to enable more precision, flexibility and control. That means smaller wounds which heal faster and enable patients to go home earlier.

“We have initially focussed on cancer patients – particularly in areas with longer waiting lists because of the pandemic – and that will enable us to improve the way we deliver this often highly specialised surgery.

“It will also reduce the need for patients to travel to other specialist centres for difficult surgeries and be available to patients from across the county.”

Often with robot-assisted surgery patients are able to go home sooner to recover – often only needing a single overnight stay in hospital.

The da Vinci XI Surgical Robot was installed in the main operating theatre at Northampton General Hospital at the end of February 2022 for patients from across Northamptonshire.

In the long term the plan is to increase robotic assisted surgery at both Northampton and Kettering hospitals and across a wider range of specialities.