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A global-first operation has celebrated a key milestone at Royal Preston Hospital.
The 100th case of extra-peritoneal colorectal surgery (EXPERTS) was performed by three Lancashire Teaching Hospitals surgeons, who have been undertaking the surgery exclusively for the last five years.
Consultant colorectal surgeons Tarek Hany, Alka Jadav and Arnab Bhowmick said the operation was “designed and performed with a view of the future in mind”.
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The surgeons used a combination of 3D animation and virtual reality which has been developed at the Trust, a unique method which avoids injuries to other organs.
Roy Ballestero, who lives in Preston after spending most of his life in Gibraltar, had the procedure done after being diagnosed with rectal cancer.
He said: “It has given me a new lease of life!
“When you are diagnosed with cancer, it can feel like the end of the world, but I’m still here. I’m extremely happy and grateful.
“I was a little apprehensive, but everything was explained to me about what to expect. Everyone agreed using the robotic arm for the surgery was the best option, and everything was so precise. The surgery was a success, and the care post-operation has been excellent, so I’m very happy with how it all went.”
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The majority of Mr Hany’s work involved minimally invasive surgery with established robotic colorectal surgery before the EXPERTS technique was developed.
He added: “This operation was designed and performed with a view of the future in mind – we believe it is good for the patients, surgeons, Trust, and NHS.
“We have presented the data from 101 cases now, and compared it to the standard surgery, we have found that there is a significantly shorter time for the return of bowel functions, a significant reduction in length of hospital stay, reduced incidence of ileus (a lack of movement in the intestines that leads to a build-up and potential blockage of food material), no occurrences of significant intraperitoneal or retroperitoneal injuries, and lower rates of conversion to open surgery.”
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The first case was performed in February 2020, with the 100th in June this year and the procedure won best oral abstract at the Portsmouth Colorectal Congress and was presented as an oral presentation at the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) in Thessaloniki, Greece last week.
Mr Hany said the team is eager to develop the technique further.
“I am very grateful for the support we had from the Trust from the beginning of this journey. This is just the beginning, there are further innovative projects on the back of this. The next step is to get a new robotic platform to make the operation even more rewarding for our patients’ outcomes, but that costs money.
“A single port robotic platform would make this procedure mainstream, or at least best for high-risk surgical patients. We are looking for funds to support this world-first initiative.”
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