‘R2-D2 is doing my surgery’: World first robot surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital

A team from Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals have become the first in the world to operate through a patient’s mouth using a robot.

This less invasive approach can remove cancerous and benign tumours growing in the mouth and throat and speed up the patient’s recovery time. 

The technique is well established but has never been performed using the Versius robotic surgery system.

The Versius robot has now been used for transoral robotic surgeries (TORS) as part of a research study by Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London.

So far, 10 patients have been treated with Versius using this technique, including 75-year-old Barbara Jones from Upminster in Essex.

The grandmother-of-three had two benign cysts removed from her throat.

Barbara said: “When I first heard that I was going to be operated on by a robot, I said to my son ‘R2-D2 is doing my surgery’.

“I knew nothing about robotic surgery before, but it’s remarkable what they can do now.

“It feels strange to be one of the first people to have this, but I was more worried about just going into hospital and getting rid of the pain. It feels a lot better now.”

The Versius robotic system consists of four robotic arms and is designed and built in Cambridge by CMR Surgical. 

During a robotic procedure, surgeons control the robotic instruments while sitting at an open console in the same room with a 3D HD view. 

One of the robotic arms controls a camera, to see inside the patient’s body.

For some patients, the minimally invasive approach can mean they need smaller doses of further treatments like radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or it may result in them avoiding the need for additional treatments altogether.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ has the largest robotic surgery programme in the UK, with six robots operating across six specialties: urology, thoracic, head and neck, gynaecology, transplant and gastrointestinal.

The configuration of Versius to be able to operate through the mouth was made possible thanks to a PhD study by head and neck research fellow Jack Faulkner.

Mark Slack, chief medical officer at CMR Surgical, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Guys’ and St Thomas’ on its pioneering research project on transoral robotic surgery.”

Pictured Top: The team from St Guy’s and St Thomas’ with the Versius robot (Picture: Guy’s and St Thomas’)