A surgical team at Luton & Dunstable University Hospital have helped achieve an east of England regional first by carrying out 13 robotic assisted gall bladder removals in a single day, along with a team at Bedford Hospital
The landmark procedures, known as cholecystectomies, took place on Saturday 16 August. The team at Luton was led by consultant general, upper GI and bariatric surgeon, Mr Tanveer Adil, who described the milestone as a demonstration of how robotic surgery is changing patient care.
Mr Adil said: “This milestone demonstrates how robotic surgery is transforming patient care. The da Vinci Xi system enables surgery through tiny incisions with exceptional precision, leading to less pain, faster recovery, and minimal scarring. It also allows us to safely perform more complex procedures, and discharge patients on the same day.”
The da Vinci Xi surgical system has been in use at Luton Hospital since April 2023. It enables surgeons to perform operations with greater accuracy and offers patients benefits such as less pain, faster recovery times and shorter hospital stays.
So far, more than 1,500 robotic assisted procedures have been carried out across Bedfordshire Hospitals, with Luton using the system in a wide range of specialities including bowel and renal cancer, endometriosis, uro-gynaecology, bariatric and biliary surgery, and complex head and neck conditions.
A total of 15 surgeons across Bedfordshire are now trained to use the technology, with all surgical staff required to complete a full training programme before operating with the system.
