Robot surgery boosts cancer survival rate

Royal Marsden study found a significant improvement over traditional methods

15 August 2022 (Last updated: 15 Aug 2022 11:31)

Photo above: Professor Vin Paleri, consultant head and neck surgeon at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, stands with the Da Vinci robot

Robotic surgery can significantly boost the survival chances of cancer patients compared with traditional operations, a study has found.

Experts at the Royal Marsden hospital in west London looked at almost 300 patients who had transoral robotic surgery (Tors) to remove recurrent head and neck cancers.

They had a two-year survival rate of 72 per cent, compared with an average of 52 per cent for patients who had open surgery. Robotic surgery also led to a “striking” improvement in quality of life.

The pioneering treatment requires surgeons to sit inside a console, controlling a robot with their hands and feet. One of the robot’s arms holds a 3D camera and two other arms hold tiny surgical instruments that perform surgery through the mouth.

The complete article may be found on The Times website

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