Surgeon operates on man’s prostate from 2,400km away utilizing robotic in UK first
The pioneering procedure went ‘extremely well’, with patient Paul Buxton reporting feeling ‘fantastic’ just four days after the surgery which he did from 2,400 km away
Paul Buxton and partner Lucia Martin(Image: PA)
The first remote robotic surgery has been hailed as a “milestone” by medics after a surgeon in London operated on a patient with prostate cancer who was some 2,400km away in Gibraltar. The pioneering procedure went “extremely well”, with patient Paul Buxton reporting feeling “fantastic” just four days after the surgery.
Mr Buxton, who is originally from Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset but moved to Gibraltar 40 years ago, said that it was a “no-brainer” to be involved. The 62-year-old said he was happy to be the “guinea pig” patient, saying the operation has taken Gibraltar from the “Championship to the Champions League” in terms of access to surgery.
He was operated on by leading robotic urological surgeon Professor Prokar Dasgupta, who said the surgery went to plan with a lag of only 0.06 seconds between the surgical tool in London and the robot in Gibraltar. The professor of urology said that it was “almost as if I was there” when operating on the patient.
Mr Dasgupta said the procedure, the UK’s first remote telesurgery, was a “milestone”. The only hospital in Gibraltar is St Bernard’s at Europort. But residents with more complex needs would usually travel further afield, including to the UK for NHS care for those eligible. After a shock prostate cancer diagnosis after Christmas, Mr Buxton was expecting to join the NHS waiting list and to travel to England for care.
But he was given the opportunity to be the first patient to have the treatment remotely and jumped at the chance. “A lot of people actually said to me: ‘You’re not going to do it, are you?'” he said.
“I thought, I’m giving something back here. I love football – we’ve literally gone from being in the Championship to the Champions League as far as surgeons are concerned.”
Mr Buxton, who owns a transport company, added: “If I hadn’t gone for the telesurgery in Gibraltar, then I would have had to have flown to London, I would have had to go on the NHS waiting list, get the procedure done and I would have probably been in London for three weeks.
“So I thought: ‘this is a no-brainer’. And it is pioneering for Gibraltar, because you don’t need to leave Gibraltar.
“Normally, any major surgeries, apart from minor stuff, maybe hernias and things like that, you end up having to go to either London or Madrid.”
He said he was “really well looked after” adding: “I was feeling fantastic four days after the operation. It’s been a privilege to be part of medical history,” he added.
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