Robotic v manual surgery

Hi Russel I’m sorry to hear your on this journey but you are not alone and in the grand scheme of things T2 is quite good !!! I was T3M0M0 diagnosed in oct last year had FLOT x4 then surgery in March I had the Ivor Lewis surgery which involved robotic in the stomach to loosen it so they can pull it through the diagram them they pop you on your side and enter through the ribs deflate the lung and remove the tumour and attach your stomach to what’s left of the esophagus!! (Fun hey)

I am now 7 months post op and feeling really well eat pretty much what I ate before the only difference in my lifestyle is that I sleep raised but some people don’t even do that so please don’t worry life goes on albeit slightly different !! My cancer was also at the joint ! 

I have no experience of other types of surgery but other people on here will just stay positive! Take care Tricia x

hi russ, i had the manual surgery, still very similar, impressive scar, still deflates a lung, and had my ribs tied up - have a phone appointment with my surgeon january so want to pick his brains on what he did.  after the op, a lot of morphine based non memories, mine was jan 8th 2025, and it feels for the first time in a long time, we can start looking forward, god willing, reach out here anytime you need to, this family on this forum are flipping brilliant, and dont be afraid to look into benefits PIP, really helped me out getting help to apply, didnt realise how much i couldnt do after the op, take care

jules

I'm told I was about the fifth person to have fully robotic front/back at Royal Surrey.

I was in ICU for four days before they looked to discharge me to general ward. I believe everyone is encouraged to walk the day following, I did but was exhausted. The 2nd day onwards I didn't need to stop - this is mostly probably thanks to the pain control.  

When released to general ward from ICU there was a chap who had, I believe just front robotic - he had his surgery 3-4 days before mine and if I remember correctly was stage 2/3, I was stage 4. I was up and walking around the entire hospital whilst he had trouble walking down the corridor. I was fetching him coffee from the main entrance, down several flights of stairs, corridors, etc. 

In my experience, the recovery from the robotic surgery was amazing, I thought I might be in for up to three weeks, I was doing the school run 9 days after surgery. Personally, I'd say if you have to push for it, it's worth it. 

Hi Tricia, thank you for taking the time to respond. Glad to hear that you are doing well post op.

Life (or lack of quality life) after the operation is what scared me the most when I first received the bad news, but hearing positive stories from people like yourself who have been through this and come out the other side is what's keeping my head in the right space.

I know I've got some incredibly difficult days ahead of me but having that knowledge that things can be ok is really helpful.

Ive got an amazing group of people round me spurring me on, i'm relatively young and have received a early diagnosis so I have a lot to be grateful for.

Just want to get this kicked into the long grass now and hopefully enjoy the rest of my life.

X

Hi Jules, thanks for coming back to me. Sounds like the type of surgery is perhaps not worth getting hung up on. Fairly certain its going to be a grim ride whichever route they send me down. 

Really hoping the operation isn't too life limiting in terms of what I can and can't do afterwards. Im pretty fit and do a fair amount of running walking so really want  to try and get back to that at least.

Pleased to hear you are on the mend following your op. Fact that you are gives me hope and thay hope gives me positive energy.

Hear what you.are saying about the family feel to this forum. Everyone appears so open and willing to share their personal experiences for the benefit of others.

The very best of humanity can be seen on this forum.

Russ

Evening, thanks for the reply. Surgeon said I would most likely be in hospital a fortnight post op so your experience with the Robotics sounds impressive. My (limited) understanding is that the Robotics requires slightly less opening up of the body, therefore less damage to surrounding muscles etc making recovery a bit quicker / easier.

Om that basis i'm going to try and push for the Robotics i think, even if it means talkig to another hospital. Apparently Preston was the first hospital outside London to start using the technology so they appear to have the expertise. They just weren't very transparent about why they would utilise it and why they wouldn’t.

Anyway, appreciate you taking the time to respond and for sharing your experience. Glad youre on the mend and hopefully this time next year I'll be in a similar situation.

Need to get this first round of chemo out the way before I start thinking about the operation so one step at a time.

Russ

deffo one step - appointment at a time, i was out on day 7 after the non robotic procedure at the churchill oxford, walking each day whilst in, had just got over breast cancer treatment when this new little so and so came back, so thought well we did it once before, the amount of people that said that, when i asked surgeon to compare this op to my masectomy, he did say this op is like open heart surgery, so deffo made me realise this was not going to be easy.  slept so much when discharged , but i had 4 chemo, 25 radiotherapy sessions before the op, wierdly with the same lovely radiotherapy that had treated me for breast cancer mop up, so at least we knew the guys and the hospital lay out. now on immunotherapy once a month until march, which has bought its own issues, but so glad i can grab this opportunity, all this happened before my 57th birthday.

cool blue and others were invaluable to be honest about what you would look like, feel like when you are put back on the ward.  so not too many nasty surprises, for which i will always be grateful.  constipation, being woken just as you are going off to sleep to check your bloody stats!!,  still think i went through it all without overthinking it, turned up for appointments, numb pretty much,counselling is helping with this,  but tried to keep my weight up, now 7 stone 3 which dietician is please with, any questions you have, any fears, this family listens to it all, all the best and keep us updated.  they now have a bell in the treatment room to ring when you finish your course of chemo/immunotherapy at stoke mandeville.  hi light of my last appointment, firstly they found a vein, thank god, but also lovely 80 year old lady and her daughter sat next to me, the mum having an infusion, said , when a guy rang the bell, (to quote katherine tates nan character - "what a load of old s~~t!!, ive been back here 3 times, so stick that bell up your ass" - perfect, each to there own, so some light in some of those dark times.

all the best jules

Hi Russ,

I had the standard Ivor Lewis surgery in February 2024. My tumour was in the same place as yours. 16 nights in hospital (had a complication so longer than expected). Completed my post-op chemo in June. I can’t deny that 2024 was a pretty tough year. Recovery from this operation is long and slow. Life now is different (small portion meals, no eating after 8pm, sleeping with 3 pillows instead of one and on my right side instead of stomach. I can’t deny tired quicker than I used to and often go for a wee lie down after meals. But, other than that, life is pretty good. I get out for a walk, swim or cycle most days, I’ve been away on a few holidays and have some booked for next year (including 10 weeks in Tenerife from Jan-Mar). I still enjoy a G&T, rum & coke or glass of wine. The days of half a dozen pints of beer are definitely behind me but a couple of pints of Guinness while watching Ireland get beaten by the Springboks on Saturday helped take the edge off the disappointment. Since my diagnosis in Oct ‘23, I have welcomed 2 new grandchildren into the world and I’ve another arriving in April. Yes, life is different after the op but still very much enjoyable and exciting and I am grateful for every day of it. Best wishes to you as you commence your journey. 2026 will be a pretty tough year for you but keep focussed on the light at the tunnel. CB

Hi Russ 

So sorry you find yourself in this situation .But you’ve come to the right place for support and invaluable advice .

My husband had Stage 2 OC in the junction between his oesophagus and stomach .He had a two part robotic Ivor Lewis almost three years ago .He was 64 at that time .Fit and active prior to his illness so that put him in good stead . He was assessed by his surgeon two weeks before his surgery date and it was agreed he was a candidate for minimal invasive surgery .(I don’t know what the criteria is but right up to then he was down for manual surgery ) .He spent three days on CCU and was home on the eighth day .There were no complications .He had an epidural for five of those days and they had him up and walking the day after surgery .If I remember rightly he went down for surgery at 9am and his surgeon phoned me at 7 pm to give me an update , so it possibly took 8 or 9 hours .

Yes it’s life changing and the recovery is a marathon and definitely not a sprint , but there is a quality of life afterwards .To be honest any lasting effects my husband has ( apart from the little and often eating regime he has to adhere to and early on acid reflux which is kept under a level of control now with meds ) have all come from the FLOT chemo which he’s always said hit him harder than the surgery .

Coincidentally my husband’s diagnostic process took five months and a change of hospital until we finally received his definitive diagnosis .Which I think is ludicrous ! He was so in tune with his body he experienced symptoms right at the start of the cells developing but because no tumour was found during his first two endoscopies and nothing ‘glowed up’ on his CT scans all we heard was ‘We don’t know what it is ‘ Long story cut short but if I hadn’t had him transferred to another hospital , who diagnosed him within two days ,he wouldn’t be here now .

Wishing you all the best and every success in your future treatment .There’s no denying  you’ve a tough year ahead , but always remind yourself that you are young and you will find the strength to get through this .

Always have faith in your medical team and the process .Take all the advice they give you and follow it .

Sending positivity and strength your way .

J 

Thanks for the response. Think I've already come to terms with the fact that life as I know it is never going to be the same. Tough one to get my head round at my age but I just keep telling myself that this is better than the alternative. Big part of our life at present is spent socialising, concets, music festivals and the like. Just not too sure how compatible that is going to be with my new future but time will tell. I've just bought tickets to see pulp in July which I appreciate might be unrealistic but at least I've got myself a target and something to potentially look forward to which is good for a positive mindset. End of the day there is nothing I can do about what is happening. Got no option but to crash on and get through this so just going to get my head down and get on with it the best I can.