From supercars to super surgeons: F1 Engineer, Gordon Murray’s oesophageal cancer robotic surgery

Gordon Murray is a name synonymous with automotive design; a Professor of Engineering responsible for creating and manufacturing the world's greatest driving cars. In 2024, Gordon received the Top Gear Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry over the course of his 60-year career - as 'arguably the greatest and most original thinker in both Formula One and the wider automotive sphere'.  

To his peers, students and fans, Murray has no signs of slowing down. At 78 years old, his ever-growing empire encompasses Gordon Murray Automotive, Gordon Murray Engineering – and as of February 2025, Gordon Murray Special Vehicles.

It is his reputation for being unstoppable that makes it difficult to comprehend that in January of last year, Gordon was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a type of oesophageal cancer.

The diagnosis came ten years after his brother, Terry, passed away aged 70 after a diagnosis of the same cancer, following years of acid reflux symptoms. Acid reflux from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common condition but can lead to a change in the lining of the oesophagus, called Barrett’s oesophagus. Barrett’s is a condition which also means an increased risk of developing oesophageal cancer. Monitoring of this can lead to earlier detection of cancer, as in Gordon’s case.

Gordon reflects, “My family has a long history of acid reflux. I first experienced symptoms when I was travelling with Formula One in my twenties. I always took medication to manage the symptoms, so I could eat and drink a wider range of things without triggering it. About 15 years ago, after being diagnosed with Barrett’s oesophagus, a consultant advised me to start having regular endoscopies to keep a closer eye on things. Fast forward to 2024, following another routine endoscopy, I got the news nobody ever wants to hear - you have a tumour.”
In the weeks that followed, Gordon was referred to Consultant Upper GI Surgeon Professor Shaun Preston at London Bridge Hospital . Professor Preston advised on chemotherapy before surgery in order to shrink the tumour for ease of removal and reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.

Gordon says, “Because we caught the cancer early, Professor Preston gave me a choice - we could operate straight away, or I could go through four rounds of chemotherapy first, and have the operation second. I thought, this is my one chance to get rid of it for good, let’s do the chemotherapy. I knew it would be hard, but I was determined to push through the four rounds. It taught me a lot about my character.”

Gordon was due to undergo surgery with Professor Preston on 10th June 2024, but in the days leading up to the surgery, he went into atrial fibrillation, his heart rate skyrocketing to 180 - a side effect of the chemotherapy he’d recently finished.. After eight days, it was back at 100 - and he was able to reschedule his surgery for July.

Gordon underwent robotic-assisted surgery using the most advanced robotic system in the UK, the da Vinci Xi at Private Care at Guy’s. Upon learning his surgery would be carried out robotically, meticulously guided by the expert eye of Professor Preston, Gordon’s s technical mind ‘boggled’ at the concept. He says, “I couldn’t quite comprehend it. I asked Shaun so many questions about the process. Knowing how my mind works, he drew me a diagram of the procedure, explaining what would be happening to me in surgery. That made it easy for me to understand. I still have that diagram.” 

On 4th July 2024 Gordon went into surgery. Professor Preston was able to remove the oesophagus containing the cancer and the Barrett’s oesophagus, as well as surrounding tissue containing 46 lymph nodes, from around the oesophagus and upper stomach. The operation was performed using the robot in both the abdomen and the chest, through 12 tiny (5-12mm) keyhole incisions and one 6cm incision to remove the specimen, an operation taking almost 10 hours. 

It is hard to ignore the parallels between Gordon’s world - one of complex automotive engineering - and that of surgical robotics. He says, “As an engineer, I’m really interested in what is happening inside the body. I kept a spreadsheet of my symptoms for the doctors, and towards the end of the chemo, I drew a graph of my major symptoms at the time. From there, I started a weekly graph, which I still do - even at 231 days post-surgery.”