Boy's robotic surgery a first for London hospitals

A seven-year-old boy has become the first child in London to undergo an operation using what his surgeon calls a "revolutionary" robotic surgical system.

Rufus Quinn, from Streatham, south London, had a robotic assisted pyeloplasty, a procedure to correct a blockage between the kidney and the bladder at the Evelina Children's Hospital.

This condition affects approximately one in 1,500 children and if left untreated can cause pain and increase the risk of kidney function deterioration.

Rufus's mother Jenny Quinn praised the hospital staff after the surgery went smoothly, and said her son recovered "really quickly" and returned to school within a few days.

The surgery was performed using the Versius Surgical Robotic System, which utilises flexible, modular arms to allow surgeons greater precision during minimally invasive operations.

While the technology is regularly used in adult surgeries, Rufus was part of an NHS clinical trial to assess the use of robotic surgeries on children.

Ms Quinn said although Rufus was "initially nervous" about the operation, he was "mainly very excited".

"He wants to be a scientist when he grows up and he liked the idea of his surgeon using a futuristic robot to carry out his operation," she said.

The surgical team was led by consultant paediatric urologist, Pankaj Mishra, who sat in the same room as Rufus and controlled the robotic system through an open console with a screen.

The robotic system consists of four modular arms that are designed to mimic human joints and have a 710-degree range of motion.

Each arm operates a miniaturised surgical instrument with another arm controlling a 3D camera that allows the surgeon to see inside the patient.

It translates any movements made by the surgeon on the open console into smaller, more precise motions in the robot's miniature tools.

Mr Mishra said: "This robotic system has the potential to revolutionise the way we carry out complex surgeries in children.

"This type of system is much less tiring for the surgeon involved, which means that difficult surgeries can become a lot easier.

"At the moment, we typically only carry out one complex operation, such as a pyeloplasty, per surgical list.

"However, Versius has the potential to allow us to do more of these type of operations in a shorter period of time."

NHS hospitals in Manchester and Southampton are also part of the trial.

It will initially use Versius to undertake a range of urological procedures in 150 paediatric patients across the UK, before assessing its potential use for a wider range of conditions.

Dr Lance Tooke, clinical director for children's surgery at Evelina London, said: "Guy's and St Thomas' is the largest robotic programme in the UK and we, at Evelina London, are proud to be part of this programme."

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