The first keyhole surgery procedure in Tayside to remove a cancerous male prostate gland has been carried out at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

A first for the north east of Scotland - the keyhole prostatectomy was undertaken by Consultant Urological Surgeon Ghulam Nabi on patient John Bruce, 58, from Menzieshill, Dundee.

John was required to undergo the procedure having been diagnosed with prostate cancer after an MRI scan in October last year following an MRI scan.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with an incidence that increases with age. Prostate cancer accounts for almost a quarter of male cancers. Each year in the UK, nearly 35,000 men are diagnosed, and more than 10,000 die from the disease.

Previously in Tayside, an open procedure to remove the cancerous prostate gland would have been carried out. However, the keyhole procedure offers huge benefits to the patient including shorter recovery time, less blood loss, a better view for the surgeon of internal structures and less need for blood transfusions.

The keyhole procedure sees five tiny holes being made in the patient’s stomach before a magnifying telescope is inserted and the prostate gland removed.

John said: "My brother who lives in Canada underwent a different procedure a few years ago and on comparing the two, my procedure was much more preferable as he had quite a long recovery time and suffered a number of after effects.

"Six weeks on from the operation I am feeling fine, have no need for painkillers and will be returning to work shortly."

Mr Nabi has been in post at Ninewells for a couple of months, having previously worked in Aberdeen and undergone his training for this procedure under world renowned Professor Stolzenburg in Germany’s University Hospital in Leipzig.

Mr Nabi said: "This is a new highly specialised surgical technique that I have now started in Dundee to benefit the patients of Tayside with my new appointment as Senior Clinical Lecturer in Surgical Uro-oncology. It fits in well with the remit of the recently established Dundee Cancer Centre.

"This is the most common form of cancer that a man can suffer from with around a 16% chance of a man developing prostate cancer in his lifetime.

"Currently around 12 to 15 patients in Tayside a year undergo open prostatectomy procedures, but with the significant benefits of the keyhole procedure, such as it being much less invasive with less recovery time and a shorter hospital stay needed, we expect the numbers of procedures being carried out to increase.

"Our goal is now to work towards making Ninewells a centre of excellence for this technique."