Robotic surgery reaches its second year in Lincolnshire

More than 500 people have been able to have complex robotic surgeries as part of their urology and colorectal cancer treatment at Lincoln County Hospital since the state-of-the-art system was introduced in February 2022.

Robotic assisted procedures are carried out by a surgeon sat at a special console connected to a robot which is designed to mimic the surgeon’s hand movements.

These procedures are less invasive, and use a standardised approach, which reduces risks during surgery and post-operative complications. The average patient who has robotic surgery will be expected to go home earlier and have a faster recovery.

Television antiques expert Mark Stacey was among the colorectal patients to receive robotic surgery in Lincoln in May 2023.

He said: “From the first moment, everything has been first rate. As a person of a certain age, I received a routine bowel cancer screening test kit in January last year.

“My partner had been away at the time and I initially thought I would wait for them to get back before doing it, but I read the instructions and it was something I could do easily for myself. I did the test, returned it and thought nothing more of it. I was then contacted to say I needed more tests and I had a colonoscopy.”

Following a number of diagnostic tests, Mark was confirmed to have a tumour. He says the option of receiving robotic assisted surgery was explained very early in his treatment.