Surgeon’s op on patient 1,500 miles away a UK first

Published: 06 March 2026
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

A surgeon in London has successfully operated on a prostate cancer patient more than 1,500 miles away in Gibraltar, in the first UK remote robotic surgery .

Professor Prokar Dasgupta, who leads The London Clinic’s Robotic Centre of Excellence, controlled the arms of a robot using a console and 3D camera system, with a delay of only 0.06 seconds between his movements in London and the surgical tools in Gibraltar .

Patient Paul Buxton, 62, who is originally from Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset but moved to Gibraltar 40 years ago, said he was feeling “fantastic” just four days after the operation .

The father-of-three received a shock diagnosis of prostate cancer after Christmas and had expected to join the NHS waiting list for treatment in England . Instead, he became the first person to undergo the pioneering telesurgery procedure on February 11 .

Speaking after the operation, Mr Buxton said it was a “no-brainer” to be involved and he was happy to be the “guinea pig” .

“A lot of people actually said to me: ‘You’re not going to do it, are you?'” he told the Press Association. “I thought, ‘I’m giving something back here’ .”

A football fan, he added: “I love football — we’ve literally gone from being in the Championship to the Champions League as far as surgeons are concerned” .

The only hospital in Gibraltar is St Bernard’s at Europort. Patients with more complex problems usually have to travel further afield, including to the UK for those needing NHS care .

“If I hadn’t gone for the telesurgery in Gibraltar, then I would have had to have flown to London, I would have had to go on the NHS waiting list, get the procedure done and I would have probably been in London for three weeks,” Mr Buxton explained .

“So I thought: ‘this is a no-brainer’. And it is pioneering for Gibraltar, because you don’t need to leave Gibraltar” .

The console in the UK was connected to the robot in Gibraltar via fibre optics, with a backup 5G connection . A team on the ground in Gibraltar was standing ready to take over as a precaution in case the connection dropped .

The London Clinic and Gibraltar Health Authority collaborated on the project, and the Toumai Robotic System, made by Microport, was used to perform the operation .

Mr Buxton was the first of two test cases. The first official surgery took place on Wednesday March 4, when Professor Dasgupta performed another prostatectomy — a surgical removal of the prostate — on an unnamed 52-year-old man, also in Gibraltar .

Speaking after that procedure, Professor Dasgupta told the Press Association: “This is a historic moment — the first telesurgery procedure from The London Clinic to Gibraltar, 2,400 kilometres away. Unbelievable” .

“It went very well. We used a robot and a very specialised connection between London to Gibraltar didn’t fail at all. The time delay between the two sides fools my brain into thinking I’m in Gibraltar” .

The professor of urology said it was “almost as if I was there” when operating on the patient, describing the procedure as a “milestone” .

He added: “This is very good news for patients in Gibraltar and other remote areas. I think it is very, very exciting, the humanitarian benefit is going to be significant” .

Professor Dasgupta said that patients in remote areas do not always have access to the best healthcare . The remote robotic surgery means that patients can be saved the “vast expense and inconvenience” of travelling for care, he added .

“This gives us the opportunity to treat patients in remote areas and smaller communities by literally being able to take the best surgeon anywhere,” he said. “The technology now exists to provide this benefit to patients” .

Al Russell, chief executive at The London Clinic, said: “The London Clinic is proud to be part of medical history and we have a strong reputation for medical firsts. We hope more patients will be able to benefit from this incredible medical breakthrough” .

Gibraltar minister for health, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, added: “This is a landmark moment for the Gibraltar Health Authority and for our patients. To deliver a complex procedure in Gibraltar with the operating surgeon based in London shows how technology, investment and the expertise of our clinicians are transforming healthcare” .

Professor Dasgupta will perform the procedure again on March 14, which will be live-streamed to 20,000 world-leading urological surgeons at the European Association of Urology congress in London .

The NHS is expanding the use of robotic-assisted surgery and plans to increase the number of procedures performed annually from 70,000 to half a million over the next decade .

Read More At>>

Related News:

UK Launches World-First Gonorrhoea Vaccine Amid Record Infection Surge AI Tools Used by English Councils Found to Downplay Women’s Health Issues, Raising Concerns Over Gender Bias in Care Breakthrough Clinical Trial Lets 12-Year-Old Boy with Rare Skin Disorder Play Football Hot Tea and Coffee Found to Contain Highest Levels of Microplastics in Popular Drinks Expanded Access to Health Diagnostics in England Now Available Beyond Standard Hours Shocking Rise in Children’s Exposure to Violent Online Pornography Raises Alarm Ed Davey Urges UK to Attract US Cancer Scientists Amid Funding Cuts Under Trump Omeprazole Alert: NHS Issues Guidance on Safe Use for Heartburn and Indigestion GPs in England Warn of Overload as Nationwide Online Appointment System Approaches Eligibility Confusion Over COVID Vaccination Leaves Pharmacies Struggling Across the UK Majority of UK Men Would Opt for Prostate Cancer Screening, Survey Finds Scientists Announce First Potentially Accurate Blood Test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome NHS May Pay 25% More for Medicines Amid US Drug Talks Survey Shows Most GPs Rushing Appointments Genetic Tests May Predict Return of Blood Cancer UK Woman Becomes Longest Survivor of Heart-Lung Transplant Thousands in the UK sue Johnson & Johnson over alleged talcum powder, linked to cancer ‘Game-Changing’ HIV Prevention Jab Set for NHS Approval Breath test could ‘revolutionise’ pancreatic cancer treatment How Bringing Forests Into Preschools Boosts Children’s Health Experts Urge Legal Right to Timely Cancer Care Patients to Test Health at Home to Ease NHS Winter Pressure North Sea oil workers must lose weight or face job loss No link found between paracetamol in pregnancy and autism UK launches major AI drive to fight deadly superbugs Coffins Now Too Large to Cremate Amid Rising Obesity Crisis Thinktank Urges Smaller Hospitals to End NHS ‘Permacrisis’ NHS paediatric leave parents waiting months for answers Robo-Vaccination Could Transform Fight Against Bovine TB Mind Launches Inquiry into AI and Mental Health After Guardian Investigation Water Cremation Introduced in UK First Streeting Criticises SNP Over NHS App Dispute Concerns Mount Over Accuracy of At-Home Health Tests as Study Calls for Stricter Regulation The Ketamine Crisis in the UK is a Silent Epidemic Leaving Users with Lifelong Pain Why E-Bikes and E-Scooters Are Making Streets a ‘Nightmare’ for Blind People Millions in the UK at Higher Risk of Heart Failure and Stroke Due to Air Pollution, Study Warns British Pilot Joins Crew Training for Year-Long Mars Simulation Mission Jaguar Land Rover Extends Production Halt Following Cyber-Attack Systemic Racism in Maternity Care Continues to Endanger Black Women in England, MPs Warn One in Three GPs in England Do Not Work in NHS, Raising Concerns Over Access to Care Persistent Offenders Owe Over £700m in Ulez Fines as TfL Cracks Down on Evasion Questions Remain as Rugby Legend Lewis Moody Faces Motor Neurone Disease Diagnosis Millions in the UK at Risk of Cyber-Attacks as Microsoft Ends Windows 10 Updates, Warns Which? Yvette Cooper Backs Digital ID Plan for UK Teens Reform UK candidate fined £19,000 after using AI-generated cases to challenge election Harry and Meghan join global AI leaders urging superintelligence ban UK Campaigners Launch Bill to Grant Legal Rights to Nature M&S and Morrisons Lead Christmas Supermarket Taste Test New Prostate Cancer Drug Set to Halve Death Risk in England Hospice Cuts Raise Alarm Across England Amid Funding Crisis UK Bans Fake Numbers: Scammers Lose Their Trick Shouting Works Best to Deter Gulls, UK Study Finds Reeves rejects £1bn plea for NHS redundancy payouts Northern Lights may illuminate UK skies this week Valve Opens the Door for Android Games on Steam New AI tool could cut wasted efforts in organ transplants Stroke Patient Mistaken for Drunk, Care Delayed ‘Traumatic Wait’: Northern Ireland Women Face Breast Cancer Delays Five-Year-Old Dies After Rare Tonsil Surgery Complication Fibromyalgia Patients Struggle as NHS Fails to Provide Care More Patients Now Contacting GPs Online, Data Shows Children to Receive Home Vaccines as England Acts Local Fish Could Boost UK Health and Economy Significantly NHS Violence Crisis: Staff Face Daily Assaults Celebrity Campaign Highlights SMA Screening Failures UK Glaucoma Rise Signals Looming Eye Health Crisis by 2060 Pornhub blocks new UK users over age checks dispute AI breast screening cuts later cancer diagnoses by 12%, study finds UK New Car Discounts Near £6,000 as Prices Are Slashed Pneumonia Surge Pushes England Emergency Cases Higher Most Statin Side-Effects Are Not Caused by Drugs, Study Confirms UK MPs Demand Ban on Brazilian Butt Lifts NHS Urges Nine Million People to Get Therapy ‘A Disgrace’ — Patient Blasts Neurology Report Half of Britons Avoid GP When Ill, Survey Reveals Growing Concern Facial Recognition Error Leads to Wrongful Arrest in Milton Keynes UK’s First Geothermal Plant Powers 10,000 Homes ‘I Almost Died After a Touch‑and‑Go C‑Section’ 50,000 People Waited Over 24 Hours in A&E Corridor Care New Infection Risk Alert at Glasgow’s Flagship Hospital