Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: A London-based Indian-origin surgeon has performed the UK’s first long distance robotic operation on a patient located 1,500 miles away.
Professor Prokar Dasgupta, world-leading robotic urological surgeon who heads The London Clinic’s Robotic Centre of Excellence, said it felt almost as if he was there, as he carried out a prostate removal on Paul Buxton who lives in Gibraltar. “This is an excellent example of teamwork, friendship, international determination and responsible AI to make this happen after a year of planning,” said Dasgupta.
The cancer patient, 62, said it had been a “no-brainer” to take part and become “part of medical history”, reported BBC. The operation was performed from The London Clinic using a robot equipped with a 3D HD camera and four arms, all controlled through a console with a delay of only 0.06 seconds.
The console in the UK was connected to the robot in Gibraltar via fibre optic cables, with a backup 5G link.
A team in Gibraltar remained on standby in case the connection failed, but it held throughout the procedure.
The operation used the Toumai Robotic System, in a collaboration between The London Clinic and the Gibraltar Health Authority. Dasgupta said, “This gives us the opportunity to treat patients in remote areas and smaller communities by literally being able to take the best surgeon anywhere.”
Buxton, originally from Burnham on Sea in Somerset but moved to Gibraltar 40 years ago, said he was “really well looked after” and was “feeling fantastic” following the operation on February 11.
It is hoped that remote robotic surgery could spare future patients the “vast expense and inconvenience” of travelling for treatment, and help deliver better healthcare to people in more remote locations. According to the news agency, UK surgeons have taken part in major telesurgery breakthroughs, including a 4,000 mile transatlantic robotic stroke procedure on a cadaver – a body of someone who has donated themselves to science – proving long distance surgery was technically possible.
