London man has pioneering robot blood vessel surgery

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Doctors at St Mary's in Paddington carried out the pioneering operation on Tottenham man James Arnold.

The 78-year-old grandfather was being discharged today after making a full recovery.

Doctors used the robot to operate on an aneurysm which threatened to rupture and could have killed Mr Arnold at any time.

Mr Arnold said: "Before this operation I felt like I was living with a timebomb inside me. When the doctors said they would be trying a new procedure, I thought I would go for it as I thought they would take good care of me.

"I feel absolutely fine - I only have two small cuts by my groin where they put the robot in."

Robots have been used before in brain, heart and prostate surgery but this is the first time such a machine has been used in vascular surgery.

Every year 5,000 people in Britain die of the same type of aneurysm - a swollen section of artery caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall - suffered by Mr Arnold.

Doctors hope to use the technique on all patients with the same condition, known as abdominal aortic aneurysm.

It is also expected that the £400,000 Hansen Sensei robot will enable them to tackle cases previously deemed too risky for surgery.

Mr Arnold's operation took place last Tuesday.

Doctors were able to stand outside the operating theatre and direct the machine - a robotic catheter with a steerable tip - through his blood vessels to fit a stent into the aneurysm. Blood then flowed through the stent, cutting the risk of a rupture.

Professor Nick Cheshire, consultant surgeon at St Mary's, part of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "This project is a perfect example of how our Trust has taken research from bench to bedside."