Robot surgery saves heart patients

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Cardiologists at the Heart Hospital near Regent's Park can carry out life-saving surgery by remote control or even on "autopilot".

Patients lie between two giant magnets which guide tiny probes around the body. These burrow through the veins to correct irregular heartbeats or prop open blocked arteries.

Both operations, called catheter ablation and angioplasty, traditionally require doctors to spend hours pushing the wires through the arteries. Under the new system specialists do not even need to be in the room. The cardiologist sits at a console outside the operating theatre and uses a joystick or mouse to guide the magnets. They can also preprogramme the computer so the entire operation is automatic.

The £2 million lab is the first in Britain and was funded by the British Heart Foundation after explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes raised £1.5 million attempting to climb Everest.

Electrophysiologist Dr Martin Lowe said: "This is the first fully robotic system to allow life-saving procedures, it is extremely exciting and means we are treating the patient more effectively. The patient is a bit like a car going through an automatic assembly line."

Sarah Johnson, 24, was one of the first to undergo the surgery last week. The mother of three from Enfield had a catheter ablation to treat ventricular tachycardia, or fast heart rhythm. The same procedure was carried out by hand on Tony Blair in 2004.

Mrs Johnson watched on screen as the wires cauterised the malfunctioning muscle. Every aspect of the operation, apart from a tap on the computer mouse instructing the wires to burn tissue, was carried out on autopilot. Mrs Johnson said: "You can feel the probes in your body as you are seeing them on the X-ray, it is very strange but I wasn't worried."