Surgeons celebrate 1,000th robotic prostate surgery

A team of surgeons at a hospital trust are celebrating performing their 1,000th prostatectomy using robotic surgeries.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been using the Da Vinci Xi robotic system for complete or partial prostate removals since 2017.

Surgeons at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital conducted the milestone surgery on patient James Goggin.

Michal Smolski, his consultant urologist, said he was pleased to say "it all went as planned".

The Da Vinci Xi system was largely funded by a £1.25m donation from Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

The consultant urologist told BBC Radio Lancashire: "Compared with the previous ways of doing surgery robotic surgeries have got significant advantages.

"Procedures could be quicker, but the main aspects are that we can do it through only tiny few incisions of the abdomen."

He said that "meant less pain, less blood loss, quicker recovery" and patients being discharged within 24 hours.

"In the longer term we know the patient will have a better rate of continence and often erectile functions as well," he said.

He added more than 90% of patients will have a very good continence rate after surgery.

Mr Goggin said he was pleased to have the procedure using the technology, "particularly as... the old way sounded quite awful in terms of recovery time".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.