da Vinci Robot appeal boosted by £25,000 donation

Last updated 20-May-11 16:06

The da Vinci Robot appeal received a boost recently thanks to a generous donation of £25,000 from The Garfield Weston Foundation.

This now takes the amount raised/pledged for the da Vinci Robot to around £230,000.

Peter Butler, Head of Fundraising at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust, said “We are really grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation for supporting our appeal.

The da Vinci Robot has already made a significant difference to the lives of our patients with a diagnosis of prostate, bladder and kidney cancers having already treated circa 112 patients using the da Vinci Robot technology. 

The first hysterectomy operation carried out at Chase Farm Hospital using the da Vinci Robot was performed in December 2010 by two of our consultant surgeons. This is ground breaking work, and it will make such a difference to the way our female patients can be treated.”

The da Vinci Robot is the most technologically advanced surgical robotic system in the world. It uses robotic and computer technology to enhance the surgeon’s vision and movement during keyhole surgery, enabling more advanced minimally invasive surgery to be undertaken. This will increase the number of patients who will benefit from the faster recovery, less blood loss, lower pain levels and reduced hospital stay that keyhole surgery provides.

Prostate cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers, affecting one in six men. Last year in Barnet and Enfield alone there were 242 deaths from prostate and bladder cancers.