A surgeon in London conducted surgery on a patient who was in Gibraltar at the time via robot

Professor Prokar Dasgupta said it felt "almost as if I was there" as he carried out surgery on Paul Buxton. The patient was keen to be part of medical history and the surgery was extremely successful in removing his prostate after a diagnosis of cancer.

The London Clinic performed the operation using a robot with a 3D HD camera and four arms. The console in London was connected to the robot in Gibraltar via fibre‑optic cables, with a backup 5G link. Qualified surgeons and a full medical team were on hand in Gibraltar to support Buxton if the connection failed and they needed to step in. The connection remained throughout and the surgery was successful. No intervention was necessary from the team on standby.

Many patients experience stress when they are forced to travel for experts to perform specific surgeries and treatments for their medical needs. Stress can inadvertently cause further health complications so being able to remain close to home and have surgery performed via a robot is a big step in reducing the risk of stress impacting the health of the patient and the success of the surgery.

It is important to consider a variety of factors that come into play when travelling for surgery including distance, cost, access to public transport from remote areas, age of the patient but also time to travel around other life commitments such as work and family. Surgery via robots could be the answer to these problems and challenges.

The surgery has been performed once since on another patient and is scheduled again for the 14th of March which will be streamed online for 20,000 surgeons to watch and learn from.

A surgeon in London conducted surgery on a patient who was in Gibraltar at the time via robot

1. What was the approximate time delay (latency) between the surgeon’s movements in London and the robot’s actions in Gibraltar?

2. Aside from receiving expert care, what specific logistical burden was the patient, Paul Buxton, able to avoid by having the surgery performed remotely?

3. Where else are robotic surgeries being used?