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The robot revolutionising gynaecological surgery

Anna Varle
BBC South West health correspondent
BBC An operating theatre with an operating table surrounded by medical staff. The operating table has robotic arms above it. Beside the operating table there is a doctor looking into a machine and manipulating the controls to direct the surgical procedure.BBC
A gynaecological surgical team at Derriford Hospital has reached the milestone of performing 300 robotic surgeries

A gynaecological surgical team at Derriford Hospital has reached the milestone of performing 300 robotic surgeries.

DaVinci robotic surgery has been used in complex cases in the gynaecology department by the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) since February 2022.

Major surgery assisted by robots significantly reduces the amount of recovery time for the patient compared with traditional techniques, the hospital trust said.

Advantages include smaller incisions, less pain, fewer post-operative complications and a shorter recovery time.

A surgeon dressed in green scrubs sitting and looking into a grey-coloured console from which he operates the robotic surgery. There is a screen above the console which shows what the surgeon is seeing.
Surgeons use controls to manipulate instruments that offer greater precision and dexterity than standard keyhole operations

Consultant gynaecologist at UHP Tim Hookway said: "Our specialist nurses report the people who have had robotic surgery have significantly less discomfort post-operatively compared to people who have had laparoscopic surgery."

He added that patients had gone home the same day as their surgery.

Surgeons use controls to manipulate instruments that offer greater precision and dexterity than standard keyhole operations while the system also offers a 3D view of the patient's body.

A magnified image of surgery taking place in the abdomen.
The robot has two cameras within it that magnify the image by up to 10 times

"The main robot has four arms," Mr Hookway said.

"Each arm is connected to a port which goes into the patient's abdomen and we can put various instruments in and control them from the console I sit at."

He said the robot has two cameras within it which magnify the image by up to 10 times.

"The movements you make with your hands are very similar to the ones you would make when you are at the operating table," he added.

"There are two hand controllers and seven pedals you use."

An image of a smiling Tim Hookway. He is dressed in green surgical scrubs and is wearing a blue net hat and glasses. He is standing in front of an operating table where there are other medical staff in masks.
Gynaecological consultant Tim Hookway said the main robot has four arms

On performing 300 operations with the robot, Mr Hookway said it was a real privilege to be part of people's life-changing surgeries.

The robot is also used to perform other surgeries at Derriford Hospital including cardiac, lung and urology cases.

The gynaecological team has carried out as many as six robotic operations in a day to reduce waiting lists.

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