A toddler with a rare condition was the first patient to have pioneering keyhole surgery at a children’s hospital.

Rowan Crombie had a cyst close to her liver that was causing her to be sick and surgeons had to remove her gall bladder.

A donation to upgrade the system meant that the 18-month-old from Philipstoun in West Lothian was able to have a new type of keyhole surgery at the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh which sped up her recovery and was less painful.

The donation from the Sick Kids Friends Foundation allowed the hospital to upgrade their system. New high definition screens mean doctors get a sharper picture during operations. Scarring is reduced and the recovery is faster.

Rowan’s father Keith said his daughter had developed "episodes of sickness" over the last 12 months which were becoming more frequent.

He said: "It was discovered that Rowan's condition was due to a choledochal cyst in her common bile duct. The cyst caused the duct to become swollen and painful and in order to fix it surgeons at the hospital had to carry out a hepato-duodenostomy. Using the new surgical equipment the doctors were able to perform the operation via keyhole rather than open surgery.

"It was a major operation, however, the fact it was keyhole surgery has been much better for Rowan in the long run as she suffered less discomfort and took less time to heal. It also reduced the problem of scarring which means instead of scars which would have grown with her she only has tiny incision marks which will fade with time.

"The whole experience has been incredibly tough but thankfully Rowan is recovering well. The doctors have been very happy with her recovery and she was discharged from hospital two days after her operation. Since then she's been doing incredibly well at home."

Rowan had her surgery two weeks ago and went home from hospital a few days ago.

Gordon MacKinlay, a consultant paediatric surgeon at the hospital said the upgrade to the system means Edinburgh is at the "cutting edge of keyhole surgery".

He said: "Having the new upgrade to our OR1 keyhole surgery equipment provided by the Sick Kids Friends Foundation has been a huge benefit to the hospital.

"The new wide screen high definition monitors make operating on very small children safer - anyone who has HD TV at home will understand the difference in clarity of the new HD system. As a surgeon who has been carrying out keyhole surgery for almost 20 years, I can say it is truly fantastic to be able to see the area we are operating on with such clarity and definition.

"Rowan's case was improved considerably thanks to the new equipment and she is the first of many children from across Scotland who will benefit."

Maureen Harrison, Chief Executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: "I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who raised funds for SKFF and contributed to the £100,000 needed to fund the OR1 upgrade project. We have so many fantastic supporters from every corner of the country, and beyond, and it is wonderful to be able to show them that their valuable contributions are helping change and save lives."