The pioneering laser that allowed cancer dad to see daughter born

Lung cancer patient John Hicks says if it wasn’t for life-saving laser surgery in Leeds he would never have seen his young daughter born.

John had surgery as part of a trial of a Lilmax laser in 2016.

“This surgery gave me a better quality of life and a quicker recovery time. I really don’t think I’d be here now if it wasn’t for the team at Leeds using the laser,” says John from Grimsby who has been battling cancer for 10 years.

“It gave my family hope for the future and meant I was able to have more surgeries and further treatment if needed. In the time since, my partner and I have had a beautiful daughter, who’s now two years old. I’m extremely grateful for the extra time given to me by this surgery.”

Now hospital charity Leeds Cares has launched a fundraising appeal today to purchase the life-saving surgical equipment at Leeds Cancer Centre. The charity hopes to raise nearly £170,000 by the summer to purchase their own ‘Limax laser’ that can be used to remove tumours from cancer patients. The Limax laser is a small but extremely precise hand-held device that can be used by surgeons to perform endobronchial treatment – the removal of blockages from the lungs or airway. It can also be used to cut and seal cancerous tissues of varying sizes.

If purchased, the laser will be used in more than 100 life-saving operations every year.

Currently, surgery to treat cancer in the lungs or airway is performed via traditional methods using scalpels to cut away growths and tumours. This means healthy tissue is often affected and surgical stents or staples have to be used to keep the organs functioning.

Use of the laser will mean a reduction in damaged healthy tissue, a shorter stay in hospital for the patient and a better quality of life following surgery. The laser may also mean that more people can be offered surgery as traditional methods are sometimes seen as too high risk for older or more vulnerable patients.

Mr Manos Kefaloyannis, Consultant Surgeon at Leeds Cancer Centre says: “It will have huge benefits for the hundreds of cancer patients, like John, who go through surgery here in Leeds. It will also enable us to offer surgery to some patients who were previously classed as inoperable – which could truly be life-saving.”

To donate to the appeal visit www.leeds-cares.org