The surgical team at Kingston Hospital in Kingston upon Thames has welcomed its first ‘state-of-the-art’ surgical robot, the da Vinci Xi.
Kingston Hospital Charity has funded Kingston the robotic system through donations from philanthropist Dame Marit Mohn and local residents. Manufactured by Intuitive Surgical, the da Vinci Xi robot comprises three parts:
- The patient cart (robot), housing the camera and four instrument arms that the surgeon uses to perform surgery.
- The surgeon console, which the surgeon sits at to control the instruments while viewing the patient’s anatomy on a highly magnified HD 3D screen.
- The vision cart or hub, which includes a large HD screen that shows a live feed of the surgical procedure to those in the theatre.
The surgical robot at Kingston Hospital will initially be used for urology, colorectal, and gynaecology surgery, with the potential to expand into other surgical specialities in the future.
It promises to enable greater accuracy during procedures, with patient benefits including less invasive surgery and faster recovery times. The hospital’s surgical team, who have already started their induction programme, led by robotic-assisted ‘surgery pioneer’, Intuitive, aims to operate on their first patient at the beginning of May.
Chief of Surgery and Planned Care at Kingston Hospital, Sarb Sandhu, said: “The arrival of the robot will enable us to provide world-class surgical care to our local patients. The surgical team is excited that the Da Vinci has now arrived, and we are looking forward to seeing the benefits it will bring to our patients.”
Philanthropist, Dame Marit Mohn, said: “As a long-time resident of Kingston, I am delighted to be able to support the introduction of surgical robotics at our local hospital. The arrival of the robot is a key element of Kingston Hospital’s clinical strategy, and enables it to join the 30% of NHS Trusts nationally who already have one.”
