First operations at new specialist theatre

John Black, president of the Royal College of Surgeons from 2008 to 2011, last week opened a new theatre at Warwick Hospital equipped to carry out keyhole abdominal surgery on cancer patients.

The theatre, part of a £4 million project to refurbish all main operating theatres at the Lakin Road site, was fully functioning and ready for the first patients on Monday.

High-tech equipment mean surgeons can operate on diseases such as bowel cancer without making major incisions. Instead, tiny high-definition video cameras show doctors what is happening on a 44-inch screen.

Although operations take longer, benefits for patients include less blood loss and faster recovery times. Surgery can also be broadcast on the internet to medical students, making the hospital valuable as a training centre.