FUTURE patients of the Cumberland Infirmary Hospital have been reassured that robot-assisted surgeries are safe and efficient, by the system's first patient.
Lee Ellis, 43, told Newsquest Cumbria that he was excited and proud to be involved in the launch of the £3million da Vinci Xi system as its first patient.
Mr Ellis had gall bladder surgery last month, carried-out using the state-of-the-art robotics system.
He said: "I'd been waiting over 12 months and then I got a cancellation through, so I took the cancellation with a week's notice and then was sat here just waiting for a normal surgery and then they came and told me it was going to get done by a robot.
"It was a bit of a shock to me really, I was massively intrigued, I think they expected me to be probably a bit anxious and worried about it but the complete opposite, the work I'm involved with is in research and development, so this tied-in very nicely with the work that I'm involved with."
"I can use it as a fantastic case study for the apprentices I work with."
Mr Ellis works in research and development at RAF Spadeadam and asked to see the robotic before the surgery.
He said: "Without having your gall bladder removed before, it's difficult to compare but I've had lots of surgery before in the past unfortunately.
"Recovery time has felt just the same, so there's been no negatives from it whatsoever, whenever you recover from surgery, it's going to be relatively tough and the robot hasn't made it any tougher.
"It was a positive experience and something I would encourage others to jump at if they got the opportunity."
Mr Ellis was pleased to be a part of the robotic system's launch in the operating theatre.
He said: "If it can help others or if it can go some way to improving surgery, speeding surgery up, maybe improving the after-care, then I'm all for it.
"It's quite a proud moment really, being that way, especially if I can teach my future apprentices about the importance of it."
Ministers want to see NHS trusts like North Cumbria Integrated Care delivering 90 per cent of their key-hole surgery using robotics by 2035.
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