County Durham granddad becomes first person in the UK to have a robot heart operation to stop blood clots
A grandfather from Chester-le-Street has become the first in the UK to have a robot heart operation to prevent potentially lethal blood clots.
Malcolm Barlow, 81, was the first person outside of the US or Italy to undergo an innovative surgery using a robot which attached a clip to his heart during a keyhole procedure. The retired police superintendent has an irregular heartbeat, which brings with it complications such as the risk of brain haemorrhages, blood clots and palpitations.
A keen motorcyclist, Malcolm has already suffered two brain haemorrhages, the second of which caused him to black out while on his bike during a trip to Scotland.
As anti-blood clotting medication is not an option for Malcolm for medical reasons and open-heart surgery was also ruled out, Freeman Hospital surgeons Mr Dharmendra Agrawal and Prof Stephen Clark at the Freeman devised a procedure - unique to him - involving the assistance of a robot.
This operation took just half an hour - and it is believed to have been the first of its kind in the UK, hospital bosses said. Malcolm, who lives with wife Jean in County Durham, said he was delighted by the result. He said: "I’m really pleased to have had the operation and I’m delighted that the surgeons combined their skills carry this out for the first time. My family are very happy it has gone well."
Mr Agrawal explained this had been a challenging case and added: "We planned this unique approach tailored especially to this patient. The irregular heartbeat means that blood is not effectively pumped out of the heart which may result in a clot forming, which can cause a potentially disabling or fatal stroke if it reaches the brain.
"The operation is safe and fast, lasting only 30 minutes. Malcolm had minimal pain afterwards, as the incision was a tiny 8mm, and he returned home the next day to a full recovery."
An irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia - formally known as atrial fibrillation - impacts around 1.4m people in the UK and is more common in older people.
Professor Clark said: “We believe this is the first time combining the robotic device with a minimally invasive procedure has been performed in the UK – we know of one other case in America and one in Italy. We combined our cardiac and thoracic expertise in each element of the procedure to give Malcolm the best possible outcome.
"We videoed the internal process of attaching the clip to the heart with the robotic arm for publication in scientific journals, to guide other surgeons in carrying out this operation, which has great potential to benefit a large population with similar conditions."