NHS patients in the South West of England are set to benefit from better surgical outcomes thanks to a major expansion in robotics, the health service has announced.
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has indicated that the provision of robotic surgery at two of its hospitals – North Devon District and Royal Devon and Exeter – is set to allow surgeons to improve precision and perform safer procedures.
Surgery for hiatal hernias, inguinal hernias and gallbladder removals will all be enabled by the new robot at North Devon, with it also coming in as the first innovation of its kind in the entire hospital.
This will be the third robot at the Royal Devon and Exeter with the newest addition expected to support ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons.
The hospital has benefited from robotic surgery in urology and orthopaedics for the last 10 and four years respectively.
The ENT unit will now be the first in the region to be able to perform trans-oral robotic surgery, with patients who needed this type of care previously having to travel to London or Oxford.
The robot is also set to allow the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to expand its colorectal surgery offering, with extra urology and gynaecology procedures also planned for this year.
The new robots offer the trust another avenue in which they can attract junior doctors for development opportunities.
“This technology allows us to be innovative in the way we approach surgery, and this makes the Royal Devon an attractive proposition for junior doctors and theatre staff, to come and train in the latest surgical techniques,” added Smith.
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