Grandmother feels like “a new woman” following robotic surgery to remove rare tumour
From left: Carol Burt, Mr Anurag Golash and Rennett Burt
Family have described how 84-year-old grandmother Rennett Burt is like “a new woman” following robotic surgery to remove a rare tumour. Rennett and her daughter have today thanked doctors at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) for their care. Clinicians at Royal Stoke University Hospital were initially reluctant to operate on Rennett due to her age and various co-morbidities, but the octogenarian has stunned the hospital’s medical team and her own family with her quick recovery.
The large tumour (known as ‘paraganglioma’) was situated on a gland in front of Rennett's aorta and secreting large amounts of adrenaline – a hormone which can be released during surgery with serious consequences.
Rennett, of Cobridge, said: “My doctor said it was a hard decision whether or not to operate on me, but I feel good and I’m really grateful for what they have done. My doctor was emotional when he saw me after the operation and how well I was doing. I was crying, I felt overwhelmed.”
In April of this year Rennett underwent the procedure to remove the tumour using the Da Vinci Xi dual console robotic system, which enables surgeons to perform even more precise surgery.
Rennett’s daughter Carol Burt, herself a qualified nurse, has praised the quality of care given by the multidisciplinary team at UHNM.
Carol, 56, of Hanley, said: “We are all absolutely amazed by the speed of mother’s recovery and the level of her wellness. She’s been absolutely amazing, she has a smile on her face every day. She is a better person now than she was before she went in.
“The team at UHNM explained all the risks to mother and to us very clearly and the communication between the multidisciplinary teams was excellent.
“We just want to say thank you so much to the team for their dedication throughout the last few years. It has most definitely paid off and is much appreciated by the entire family. Mother has been given a new lease of life.”
The robot system was funded by the Denise Coates Foundation as part of their support for the development of the Trust's cancer services, delivered via an £8.4 million grant to UHNM Charity.
Mr Anurag Golash, consultant urological surgeon, said: “Initially I was very reluctant to operate on Rennett as I was worried it may cause her harm.
“However, Professor Hanna had very carefully prepared Rennett from a medical standpoint and both Rennett and her daughter were sure that they wanted to proceed. Other senior clinical staff on the multidisciplinary team supported the decision, so we decided to go ahead.
“Robotic assisted minimally invasive surgery was the key to reducing complications as the tumour was sitting on one of the biggest blood vessels in the body. The cuts had to be very precise and the vision had to be perfect as even a 1-mm deviation could lead to catastrophic bleeding.
“The operation has been a huge success and we could not be more thrilled with the outcome.
“The Da Vinci Xi robotic system provides us with the tools to perform extremely precise surgery and we are fortunate to have such technology available to us here at UHNM.”