London hospital performs record number of endometriosis surgeries

A London hospital has delivered a record number of procedures for women with endometriosis in a “super-surgery” weekend.

Surgeons at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital have performed a staggering 24 surgical procedures in a single weekend, marking a landmark moment for the London hospital.

Although one in ten women in the UK suffer with endometriosis, such high intensity procedures are rarely performed in gynaecology theatres in the UK.

In an usual week, staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital would perform only three major endometriosis procedures per week.

“Thanks to the dedication of our staff working additional hours, combined with the latest robotic procedures, we were able to help dozens of women in North West London this weekend alone,” said Jeffrey Ahmed, consultant gynaecologist at the London hospital.

To tackle surgery waiting lists, the trust is using High Intensity Theatre (HIT) lists which focus on one procedure at a time and deploys the latest robotic innovation.

The high number of surgical procedures is made possible by deploying newly developed, more efficient processes, including a new theatre scheduling software.

David Marante, regional director of Intuitive UK & Ireland who supplied the robotic system, said: “We’re delighted that this innovative way of working from the gynaecology team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has enabled more patients to receive minimally invasive surgical procedures with da Vinci technology over the last seven days.

“These efforts have shown that the use of our technology can not only enable surgeons and care teams to deliver improved patient outcomes, but also improve theatre productivity and efficiency so that more patients can be treated.

“We look forward to continuing our work with the NHS to advance minimally invasive care with robotic-assisted surgical procedure.”