Sheffield: Patient praises robotic hysterectomy recovery time

A woman who had a robotic-assisted hysterectomy said she was “gobsmacked” at how quickly she recovered from surgery.

Katie Titman, from Lowedges, in Sheffield, underwent the procedure – the first of its kind in South Yorkshire – at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust after suffering from endometriosis.

The surgical team were able to remove her entire womb and cervix through five small incisions on her stomach and she was “up and about” within a week.

Consultant gynaecologist Karim Abdallah described the technology as a “great stride forward in improving the health and wellbeing of women”.

Ms Titman, 42, said she had lived in “horrendous pain” for most of her life as a result of the condition, which causes tissue similar to the lining of the womb to grow in other places.

“Since I began having periods when I was 14, I had really bad pain in my stomach and lower back, with really heavy periods,” she said.

“I even had injections to tackle the condition by tricking my body into thinking I was going into menopause, but they didn’t work.”

Ahead of her surgery in February she said her consultant had explained to what would happen.

“He showed me pictures of the robot and what he would be doing and it was a bit of a shock,” she said.

“I said ‘oh, you’re not even going to be sat with it?’ I think he was sat at the other side of the room, it was a bit like using a computer game.”

She said following the operation she was “walking around and undertaking normal day-to-day activities within a week of surgery”.

“It’s been much easier than I expected. I don’t feel like I’ve had major surgery at all,” she said.

The recovery time after a traditional operation can be up to eight weeks, hospital staff said, but the multi-armed robot is able to perform intricate and delicate manoeuvres that “surpasses what the human hand can achieve alone”.

Mr Abdallah said: “Sheffield is the first in South Yorkshire to deliver this cutting-edge surgery which is set to help young, active women who have suffered for many years with common gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis.”