What changed
Belfast City Hospital has introduced the Da Vinci robotic system for complex gynaecological surgery, the first such system on the island of Ireland. The £2.4m robot joined the hospital’s gynaecology team in May, has already been used in 130 operations, including 105 for complex endometriosis, and four consultants are trained to operate it.
Why it matters
For women with complex endometriosis, the change is less about robots replacing doctors than about giving surgeons steadier tools in difficult pelvic procedures. The system’s robotic wrists can twist through tight spaces, while surgeons control the operation themselves.
Northern Ireland’s average wait for this kind of complex surgery is about seven years. Delays can affect daily life, mental and physical health, and fertility. Colleen Crothers, who began experiencing severe period pain at 14 and was diagnosed with adenomyosis and endometriosis decades later, ultimately needed a hysterectomy at 41.
Her surgery was conventional, but she is now largely pain-free. “Robotic surgery came too late for me,” she said, hoping other women will not face the same wait.
The hospital says complex gynaecology cases are now being prioritised rather than pushed aside when other operations arrive, including cancer surgery. That may be the most important practical change: a dedicated pathway for cases that have often been treated as difficult to schedule.
The outlook is promising but unproven. The robot may help reduce the backlog, but the reporting does not yet show how much waiting times will fall or whether outcomes are better than with conventional surgery.
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