Hospital performs 10,000th robotic surgery

A hospital in Surrey has performed its 10,000th robotic-assisted surgical procedure.

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust first introduced the technology in 2009 with the installation of a da Vinci surgical system.

It now operates four surgical robots across a range of specialities, including urology, gynaecology, colorectal, hepatobiliary, oesophagogastric and ear, nose and throat surgery.

The 10,000th patient was Alistair Hutchinson, 49, who underwent robotic surgery for throat cancer. He said: "It truly changed everything. I was able to receive the treatment I needed to remove the cancer – without facing the harsh side effects I had feared."