This achievement highlights the Trust’s continued commitment to advancing surgical care for patients with urological cancers and marks another important chapter in its journey as a leader in robotic-assisted surgery.
The Trust's robotic surgery journey began in May 2017, when it became the first hospital in the North of England—and only the third in the UK—to receive the da Vinci Xi surgical system.
This milestone was made possible through the hard work and enterprise of a few consultants, the vision of the Trust’s Executive team, and substantial funding from the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, which contributed an extraordinary £1.25 million to the project.
By 2020, the team had already surpassed 1,000 robotic-assisted cases across its Royal Preston and Chorley Hospital sites, with landmark procedures including the first robotic-assisted upper gastrointestinal robotic tract surgery in the North West. In 2020, a second da Vinci Xi robotic system was installed in the Chorley Elective Surgical Hub.
Robotic-assisted surgery with the da Vinci system has significantly improved outcomes for patients, enabling surgeons to perform highly complex procedures with greater precision, faster recovery times, and enhanced long-term results.
The robotic-assisted daVinci system—named after Leonardo da Vinci, who first conceptualised a robot in 1495—enables advanced minimally-invasive surgery using instruments and a camera attached to four arms, which are inserted into the patient through tiny incisions.
Surgeons operate the system from a console that provides a 3D, high-definition view of the surgical area, enhancing dexterity and minimising the risk of complications.
The benefits for patients are significant: most are discharged the following day, in contrast to the three to four days typically required for open surgery. The minimally invasive approach also leads to better continence and sexual function outcomes, thanks to the enhanced precision and visualisation offered by the robotic system.
James Goggin of Preston was the 1,000th patient to undergo a robotic-assisted prostatectomy at the Trust. He said: “I feel fine, the surgeon Mr Smolski explained the procedure and what is a relatively new innovation. I was pleased to be on board with that, particularly compared to the recovery time with the old way it used to be done.
“It’s been fabulous at Chorley because it seems so relaxed, so quiet. I've been impressed with the whole team from start to finish, they've all been a credit to the NHS.”
Consultant Michal Smolski, who performed the milestone procedure, added: “Compared to an open prostatectomy and keyhole laparoscopy prostatectomy, robotic surgery has significant advantages for the patient and the surgeon and translates to better outcomes. Because it is minimally invasive surgery, this means less pain, less blood loss, quicker recovery, and you can usually discharge patients within 24 hours. In the longer term, patients have a better rate of urinary continence and often erectile functions as well comparing to previous, traditional techniques.
“None of this would happen without all the team - my anaesthetist colleagues, Dr Mohammed Naushad and Dr Alison Waite, who keep the patient safe while they are asleep, Ranier Delo, our surgical practitioner, Pradip Javle, who is the surgeon who performed the first robotic-assisted prostatectomy at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, our team of Clinical Nurse Specialists, as well as the wider cancer team and the Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
"Without the support from Rosemere, we would not be able to achieve what we have achieved. They invested over a million pounds in a device and thanks to that we can carry out successful robotic-assisted surgeries here and in Preston.”