https://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0721/c90000-20342749.html
Robotic surgery performed remotely
By ZHOU WENTING in Shanghai (China Daily) 08:43, July 21, 2025
Three top surgical teams from China and the United Kingdom came together to conduct a remote robotic surgery spanning across continents on Thursday, with the medical teams saying it was like they were in the same operating theater. Led by Shanghai Renji Hospital, in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Medicine and London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, the multisite coordinated surgery took place simultaneously in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London.
The experimental operation was performed on a pig in Hong Kong, and the doctors performed a relay laparoscopic robotic gastrectomy on it, using a China- made remote platform of surgical robots. Zhang Zizhen, director of the gastrointestinal surgery department at Renji Hospital, was the first to connect to the surgical robotic system for remote operation. He completed the dissection and exposure of the gastroesophageal junction area smoothly, saying that the image quality of the system was clear and precise. Subsequently, control of the surgery was transferred to the London team. Asif Chaudry, chief expert of upper gastrointestinal surgery at the hospital, maneuvered the robotic system to separate the stomach from the colon, pancreas and spleen, exposing the blood supplying arteries of the major organs in the upper abdominal cavity, and meticulously clearing the lymph nodes in the area. At the Hong Kong site, doctors were responsible for monitoring and system support throughout the surgery, ensuring the smooth operation of the system and providing clinical support to the surgical teams at the other two locations.
Lasting approximately one hour, the surgery was said by the teams to feature clear image transmission, smooth command responses and seamless transitions of control among the three surgical teams, showcasing a tightly coordinated surgical process. Also, the surgical perspectives and anatomical views for the doctors at different locations were highly consistent, guaranteeing the continuity and safety of the surgery.
Major hospitals in China have accumulated experience in remote surgery. Using domestically made 5G surgical robots, doctors at Shanghai Chest Hospital performed remote lung cancer surgery on a patient in Kashgar prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which is 5,000 kilometers away, in July last year.
