KGH surgeons pioneering new key hole surgery technique for some early-stage bowel cancer patients in Northamptonshire

A new way of treating certain early-stage bowel and rectum cancers without major abdominal surgery is being introduced to Northamptonshire.

It involves using minimally invasive key-hole surgery techniques to remove early-stage tumours – and some advanced benign polyps that cannot be removed with endoscopic procedures - through the anal opening rather than though major radical surgery of the rectum.

The technique is called Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS) and the first operation in the county was carried out at Kettering General Hospital on April 19 by Mr Triantafyllos Doulias and Mr Khalid Hureibi, Consultant Laparoscopic Colorectal and General Surgeons.

Mr Doulias said: “This is the first time this kind of surgery has been available in Northamptonshire - previously people would have had to travel to places like Colchester, Leicester or Basildon to receive it, or have the alternative of more invasive abdominal surgery.

“This technique has many benefits for our patients, who are often elderly, in that it can mean they don’t have to have more radical surgery which impacts significantly on the quality of their life.

“We can now remove some polyps and early-stage tumours in the rectum with significantly less impact on the patient in an operation that lasts about 45 to 60 minutes.

“Research with the technique has shown that people have less pain, fewer complications, shorter stays in hospital, and faster recovery times, than the alternative of using abdominal surgery.”

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group – which runs Kettering and Northampton general hospitals – invests £1,000 per patient in the specialised equipment needed to carry out each TAMIS procedure.

It is expected that about 50 patients per year, from across Northamptonshire, will benefit from the new technique.

It will be carried out by Consultant Laparoscopic Colorectal and General Surgeons Mr Triantafyllos Doulias and Mr Khalid Hureibi along with specially trained theatre nurse and any other staff.

The procedures will be done as day cases which means that patients may well be able to go home on the same day as surgery.

The alternative would have been to wait for at least eight to ten weeks to be assessed by the TAMIS surgeons in a different out-of-county hospital, then having to travel a long distance for the initial assessment, repeat investigations, and finally for the actual procedure.

KGH’s medical director, John Jameson, said: “I am delighted that our innovative colorectal team have embraced this new technique and have undergone the specialist training needed in order to be able to deliver it to patients in Northamptonshire.

“Increasingly new technology – and new surgical techniques – will help us deliver better care for our patients with quicker recovery times and less of an impact on their lives.”

After the procedure patients with early rectal cancers will have close monitoring for a period of five years with endoscopic and radiology procedures.

This is in line with national guidance on colonic/rectal cancers follow-ups.