London, Mar 7: In a medical breakthrough, a surgeon in the United Kingdom successfully guided a robot to perform prostate cancer surgery on a patient in Gibraltar from about 1,500 miles away in London, marking the country’s first remote telesurgery.
The operation was carried out on 62-year-old British resident Paul Buxton at St. Bernard’s Hospital, the only hospital in the British overseas territory.
The complex procedure involved the removal of Buxton’s prostate and was conducted remotely by leading urology specialist Prokar Dasgupta from The London Clinic in London’s Harley Street district.
Dasgupta guided the Toumai Robotic System, developed by Microport, which used four robotic arms and a high-definition 3D camera to perform the intricate surgical steps.
The system operated with a delay of just 0.06 seconds between the surgeon’s console in London and the robot in Gibraltar, allowing highly precise control during the operation. The technology infrastructure was supported by Presidio using fibre-optic and backup 5G connections to maintain a stable link.
Doctors said the procedure represents a major step forward in robotic medicine and could significantly expand access to specialist surgery for patients living in remote or isolated regions.
Buxton, who has lived in Gibraltar for about four decades, said he felt “fantastic” within days of the operation and was proud to be part of the pioneering effort.
“It’s been a privilege to be part of medical history,” he said.
“And it is pioneering for Gibraltar, because you don’t need to leave Gibraltar.”
Buxton said he chose the remote procedure rather than travelling to Britain and joining a waiting list for treatment.
“If I hadn’t gone for the telesurgery, I would have had to fly to London, go on the NHS waiting list and probably stay there for three weeks. So I thought this is a no-brainer,” he said.
Dasgupta said the procedure went exactly according to plan and described the development as a milestone for remote surgery.
“It was almost as if I was there,” he said, adding that the operation represented a “milestone” in telesurgery.
Medical teams said a second patient has already undergone the procedure, and another surgery is scheduled to be live-streamed to about 20,000 surgeons during a major European medical congress, highlighting the growing potential of robotic technology in healthcare.
