Robotic surgery on kidney tumour is shown around the world

Jacqueline Nelson, 55, visited her doctor after noticing blood in her urine in July and was soon referred to hospital, where she was told she had a tumour measuring about 3cm in her left kidney.

Mrs Nelson, a pharmacy technician who lives on Canvey, said: “It was a real shock to find out I had a tumour. “But I was assured that kidney cancer is usually curable once the tumour is taken away.”

But, after discussions with her doctors, Mrs Nelson faced further distress after learning that she faced the removal of her whole left kidney. She said: “Surgeons at my local hospital were only able to remove it using keyhole surgery and, because the tumour was in an awkward position, it meant my whole kidney would need to be taken away.”

Mrs Nelson was concerned about the risk this might cause in the future should something happen to her other kidney, but luckily was offered the chance to undergo a pioneering form of robotic surgery and was subsequently prepped to undergo robotic partial kidney removal, also known as partial nephrectomy.

She said: “I was told the only way to remove part of the kidney was using robotic surgery, so I was referred to Mr Challacombe at Guy’s Hospital in London.”

Pioneers - the surgical team

Although the hospital carries out about 450 robotic surgeries a year using two Da Vinci surgical robots, Mrs Nelson’s surgery was unique in that the the surgery was screened live around the world as part of the Worldwide Robotic Surgery 24 Hour event.

This saw 14 of the world’s leading robotic centres on five continents broadcast their operations to about 27,000 health professionals watching online.

Ben Challacombe, consultant urological surgeon at the hospital, led the surgery, which was the first live broadcast of its kind in the UK.

Mr Challacombe said: “The surgery has several benefits for patients over both standard keyhole and open surgery, including less time in hospital, faster recovery times and less pain. We can make smaller incisions to remove the part of the kidney, avoiding larger cuts and more scarring.When we use the robots, we effectively have our hands inside the patient without open surgery.”

During a robotic procedure, surgeons control the robot’s ‘arms’ from a console as they look down small telescopes on the end of each arm to see inside the four keyhole incisions. The machine gives them a 3D HD view while they operate, eliminates tremor and provides an increased range of movement, which leads to more precision and quicker stitching.

Mr Challacombe added: “We can perform the key part of the procedure in less time using the robot, so this reduces the time that blood flow to the kidney is stopped while the tumour is removed. Consequently there is less damage to the kidney, keeping it functioning better after the operation, and more of the kidney can be preserved.The procedure went well - the tumour was removed successfully and Jacqueline should now make a good recovery. We really appreciate her letting us share her experience with the world during the broadcast.”

Mrs Nelson, who is now recovering at home, said: “I was really pleased to be able to have the robotic procedure because I would have worried about something happening to my other kidney if I needed the whole kidney removed. This means more of the kidney where I had the tumour has been preserved, so I am very grateful to the team at Guy’s and for the opportunity to have this cutting-edge surgery.”

Jacqueline Nelson and Ben Challacombe