The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) has delivered two live-streamed robotic colorectal cancer operations as part of a two-day surgical symposium aimed at educating surgeons. The operations, which took place on October 8 and October 9, 2026, at Northampton General Hospital, involved two local patients who consented to their procedures being streamed anonymously to the Cripps Education Centre within the same hospital.
The symposium brought together consultants, colorectal surgeons, and senior doctors from Northamptonshire, the wider UK, Norway, and Portugal. This marks the fourth such event organised by UHN, which runs both Kettering and Northampton general hospitals, to train its own medical teams and allow external surgeons to learn advanced robotic techniques.
Mr Jamil Ahmed, UHN’s Deputy Director of Medical Education and lead for robotic colorectal surgery, expressed gratitude to the patients for their consent. He highlighted the value of live-streaming, stating, "It is a very powerful experience to watch robotic surgery in real time and means delegates can see every step of the procedure, through the eyes of the surgeon, and see where decisions are made, and why they are made, and take part in discussions."
One patient, Adrian Sample, 62, from Northampton, underwent his procedure on October 9 and was discharged on October 12. Having discovered his bowel cancer through a routine screening test, he underwent radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and then the robot-assisted surgery performed by Mr Ahmed. He stated, "I wasn’t concerned about the robotic surgery. I trusted the plan that was in place."
The event involved approximately 80 surgeons and trainees, with about 15 from UHN. Mr Ahmed, also a senior lecturer at the University Hospitals of Leicester, noted that both operations to remove parts of the colon and rectum went well, receiving positive feedback on the live-streaming method. He hopes to build on this success to establish UHN as a leading centre for colorectal cancer, acknowledging the outstanding collaboration of the theatre staff, anaesthetists, consultants, trainees, and the medical education team.
