Surgeon's operation on patient 2,400km away is UK first

A surgeon in London says he has performed the UK's first long‑distance robotic operation on a patient located 2,400km (1,500 miles) away in Gibraltar.

Leading robotic urological surgeon Professor Prokar Dasgupta said it felt "almost as if I was there" as he carried out a prostrate removal on Paul Buxton.

The cancer patient, 62, said it had been a "no-brainer" to take part and become "part of medical history".

It is hoped that remote robotic surgery could spare future patients the "vast expense and inconvenience" of travelling for treatment, and help deliver better healthcare to people in more remote locations.

UK surgeons have taken part in major telesurgery breakthroughs, including a 4,000‑mile transatlantic robotic stroke procedure on a cadaver - a body of someone who has donated themselves to science - proving long‑distance surgery was technically possible.

Buxton is originally from Burnham‑on‑Sea in Somerset but moved to Gibraltar 40 years ago.

Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, has just one hospital, St Bernard's at Europort, meaning residents with more complex medical needs often have to travel abroad, usually to the UK for NHS care if eligible.

Buxton had expected to be put on an NHS waiting list after receiving a shock prostate cancer diagnosis just after Christmas, but he "jumped at the chance" to be the first patient to undergo the treatment remotely as part of a trial.

"A lot of people actually said to me: 'You're not going to do it, are you?'

"I thought, I'm giving something back here," he said.

Buxton, who owns a transport company, added: "If I hadn't gone for the telesurgery in Gibraltar, then I would have had to have flown to London, I would have had to go on the NHS waiting list, get the procedure done and I would have probably been in London for three weeks.

"So I thought: 'This is a no‑brainer'.

"It is pioneering for Gibraltar, because you don't need to leave Gibraltar."

Buxton said he was "really well looked after" and was "feeling fantastic" following the operation on 11 February.

The operation was performed from The London Clinic using a robot equipped with a 3D HD camera and four arms, all controlled through a console with a delay of only 0.06 seconds.

The console in the UK was connected to the robot in Gibraltar via fibre‑optic cables, with a backup 5G link.

A team in Gibraltar remained on standby in case the connection failed, but it held throughout the procedure.

The operation used the Toumai Robotic System, in a collaboration between The London Clinic and the Gibraltar Health Authority.

Dasgupta said: "This gives us the opportunity to treat patients in remote areas and smaller communities by literally being able to take the best surgeon anywhere."

This was the first of two test cases, the second involving an unnamed 52‑year‑old man on 4 March, also in Gibraltar.

Dasgupta will perform the procedure again on 14 March, which will be live‑streamed to 20,000 world‑leading urological surgeons at the European Association of Urology congress.

He added: "I think it is very, very exciting, the humanitarian benefit is going to be significant."