A ROBOT used in surgery on patients with cancer was unveiled at Lister Hospital in Stevenage yesterday (Wednesday), at the official opening of the Hertfordshire Robotics Centre. The Katina robot is used for a wide range of urological procedures, including

A ROBOT used in surgery on patients with cancer was unveiled at Lister Hospital in Stevenage yesterday (Wednesday), at the official opening of the Hertfordshire Robotics Centre.

The Katina robot is used for a wide range of urological procedures, including surgery on patients with prostate, bladder or kidney cancer.

It allows surgeons to perform far more precise surgical procedures than traditional keyhole surgery, so patients recover more quickly and experience far fewer complications, such as incontinence or sexual dysfunction.

Lister is one of three hospitals in the East of England to offer robotic urological surgery, and it is still relatively new in the UK.

The robot is named Katina, after the mother of two Hertfordshire businessmen, Stef and Stelios Stefanou, who made a donation to Lister.

Richard Beazley, chairman of The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which runs Lister, said: "The robot enables a range of mainly urological surgical procedures to be carried out with far greater precision, but also through far smaller incisions.

"The outcome for patients is generally fewer complications, less trauma and much quicker recovery.

"The new robot represents a major advance that keeps the urology team at the forefront of advances in medical science."

To date, 30 patients have benefited from urological robotic surgery at the Lister since the robot was installed in December 2008.