A cancer patient had his prostate removed by a robot.The pioneering surgery was carried out by the ‘Robo Doc’, lovingly called Matilda by her human masters.Matilda successfully removed 55-year-old David Roughly’s prostrate at Manchester’s Christie Hospital under the watchful eye of surgeon Vijay Ramani. Roughly was up and about within 24 hours of undergoing the operation.

“The robot is very sophisticated. With practice you can achieve the same or better levels or control as if you held the instrument yourself, rather than traditional keyhole surgery which is more like using chopsticks,” said Ramani.

Matilda has four arms which rotate 360 degrees and grip instruments including a camera which are inserted into the body during an operation. There is also a separate control unit – manned by the surgeon – with hand and foot pedals and a threedimensional screen which can magnify views by up to 10 times.

The patient requires lower doses of anaesthetic for the surgery and lose less blood with the chances of infections lowered.

“This is the future of surgery because it radically reduces most of the risks associated with operations. The technology enables us to see inside the body as well as performing an open operation and manipulate the instruments with high precision,” explained Ramani.

“David’s operation went well and his recovery was remarkable. As well as bringing benefits for patients, the machines will be cost effective because patients recover so much quicker — they can be discharged after one or two days and return to work after just a few weeks,” he added. Another benefit is that it leaves prostate cancer patients with a greater chance of avoiding impotence or incontinence.

Roughly, a surveyor, was delighted with the success of the operation. “I was a little apprehensive before the operation as I was the first person to use the robot, but when you have an operation you have to put yourself in the doctor’s hands anyway. “I was up and about less than 24 hours after my operation. Normally it would be about 10 days,” said Roughly.

Rather than morphine to dull the pain after the operation he only needed paracetamol. “I’ve hardly had any pain, the surgery was faster, and most importantly, I went home much more quickly so was there in time for the birth of my third grandchild,” explained a delighted Roughly.

There are six other surgery robots in Britain but this is the first in England’s North West. In other parts of the world robots have been used for brain and heart surgery, but for the time being Christie hospital is only using Matilda for prostate cancer operations.