A pioneering feat of British medical innovation has seen a surgeon in London successfully remove a patient's prostate while the man lay on an operating table some 1,500 miles away in Gibraltar. Prof Prokar Dasgupta, who leads the robotic centre of excellence at The London Clinic, performed the groundbreaking procedure from his console in Harley Street earlier this year. His patient, 62-year-old Paul Buxton, underwent the operation at St Bernard's Hospital in the British overseas territory. The prostate cancer patient, originally from Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, had relocated to Gibraltar four decades ago. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Following the landmark surgery, Buxton reported feeling "fantastic" within days of the procedure, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of remote surgical techniques. The operation utilised the Toumai Robotic System, manufactured by Microport, which features a four-armed robot equipped with a high-definition 3D camera. Technology services provider Presidio assisted in establishing the connection between Dasgupta's London console and the surgical equipment in Gibraltar. Remarkably, the time delay between the surgeon's movements and the robot's response measured just 0.06 seconds, or 60 milliseconds. The primary link relied upon fibre optic cables spanning the 2,400-kilometre distance, with a 5G connection serving as a back-up system. As an additional safety measure, a medical team remained on standby at St Bernard's, prepared to assume control should the connection fail. Prof Dasgupta described the milestone surgery as having gone "extremely well". Mr Buxton embraced his role as a medical pioneer with characteristic good humour, describing himself as a willing "guinea pig" in the endeavour. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS NHS alerts men to prostate cancer symptoms that may show up in the bathroom Can you hear the rain? Survey highlights hearing loss symptoms affecting nearly half of adults Can a low-carb diet reverse type 2 diabetes? Expert reveals what 'remission' requires "A lot of people actually said to me: 'You're not going to do it, are you?'" he recalled. "I thought, I'm giving something back here." The football enthusiast drew upon his sporting passion to illustrate the significance of the achievement: "I love football – we've gone from being in the Championship to the Champions League as far as surgeons are concerned." Had he declined the opportunity, Buxton would have faced joining an NHS waiting list and travelling to England, likely remaining in London for approximately three weeks. "This is a no-brainer," he explained, noting that Gibraltar residents typically must travel to London or Madrid for major surgical procedures. "It's been a privilege to be part of medical history," he added. Prof Dasgupta emphasised the profound implications of this technological breakthrough for patients in isolated locations who lack access to specialist healthcare. Remote surgery offers such individuals the prospect of avoiding "vast expense and inconvenience" associated with travelling considerable distances for treatment. "I think it is very, very exciting; the humanitarian benefit is going to be significant," he stated. The professor is set to demonstrate the procedure once more on March 14, performing another remote operation on a patient in Gibraltar. This time, however, the surgery will be broadcast via livestream to an audience of 20,000 surgeons attending the European Association of Urology congress. The field of telesurgery continues to advance rapidly worldwide, with recent developments enabling increasingly sophisticated real-time procedures across vast distances. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter