Grandad of eight becomes ‘first person in UK to be operated on by pioneering surgical robot’

A GRANDAD of eight is thought to be the first person in Britain to be operated on by a ­pioneering surgical robot.

Rob George, 70, had his prostate removed by a “robotic assisted-surgery system” called Hugo after a diagnosis of cancer.

Hugo, from US firm Medtronic, is minimally invasive, allowing doctors to operate robotic arms using a 3D view.

Palliative care expert Rob, from Honor Oak Park, South London, had the op at Guy’s Hospital in London on Friday — and left the next day.

He said: “I’ve done a lot of firsts in my own career so I know things from the other side of the fence.

“I’ve had conversations with patients about doing something new or novel so I thought it was fitting that it was me this time.

“I came to this massively informed about what cancer means and what its potential consequences are but I am an optimist.

“I thought ‘I’ve got cancer, here are the options, so let’s get it out’.

“I arrived early on Friday morning and was home by tea time the next day. From start to finish the whole process was amazing.”

Ben Challacombe, Rob’s surgeon and clinical lead for robotic surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We carry out the most robotic operations in the NHS with more than 1,500 cases a year.

“Expanding our robotics programme with Hugo allows us to offer the benefits of this technology, including fewer complications and smaller scars, to even more patients.”