Patient thanks 'robot surgeons' for quick recovery after liver operation

A patient who had a life-changing operation on his liver says his "quick recovery" was thanks to the robots that carried out his surgery.

David Power from Haverhill in Suffolk is one of more than 500 patients who have benefitted from robot surgery at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge in the past year.

After a 12 month wait for surgery, retired shop manager Mr Power had a cyst removed from his liver by the da Vinci Xi robot just before Christmas in 2023.

Thanks to the revolutionary robots - which are controlled by surgeons - Mr Power was able to leave hospital the very next day after his operation, avoiding a 10-day stint in hospital.

He said he was back out in his garden and working on his model railway within two to three weeks, putting his quick recovery time down to the robot surgery being "much less invasive" than traditional open surgery.

Consultant surgeons at the unveiling of the da Vinci Xi robot in July 2023. Credit: Cambridge University Hospitals.

The da Vinci Xi surgical robot is one of three specialist machines at Addenbrooke's Hospital, and was unveiled last July following a £1.5 million fundraising campaign.

Controlled by a surgeon, the robots mechanical arms allow for a more precise, less invasive procedure, reducing recovery times and freeing up hospital beds.

Dr Siong-Seng Liau, chair of the Robotic Surgery Steering Group, says it's been an "incredible 12 months" as their three robots have helped specialists carry out nearly 540 life-saving or life-changing operations.

“Many of the patients now have actually waited quite a long time on the NHS long waiting list, and with the time that they've waited, some of them have developed more complex diseases.

"But we've been able to deploy the robot to help these patients achieve minimally invasive, smaller scale operations. They allow them to recover much faster, essentially reducing the length of stay in the hospital."

He hopes the success of the program will help them to expand and introduce a fourth robot to the wards.

The Addenbrooke's team celebrating the first anniversary of their new robot, da Vinci Xi (left). Credit: Cambridge University Hospitals.

Shelly Thake, who runs the Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, said it wouldn't have been possible without the support of fundraisers.

"If you've given up some money, if you've donated, if you fundraised, if you've volunteered for us, all of those things have made a difference in you personally have impacting on people's lives.

"People have had their operations, people have got home faster, people have recovered sooner. And that's all thanks to our wonderful supporters."

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