The hand "reaches" 800 kilometers away to perform surgery on patients! This world-first surgery is really "magical"

"I will now hand over the control of the operation to Quanzhou." As soon as these words were spoken, warm applause broke out at the Phase I Robot Training Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and the operating room of Quanzhou First Hospital. The world's first 5G remote multi-arm robot radical prostatectomy operation was successfully completed in 2 hours.

Unlike previous surgical scenes, there were no patients or nurses in the Phase I Robot Training Center of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University Headquarters. Only Professor Xia Dan, director of the Phase I Urology Department of the Headquarters, sat in front of a robot. It was more like a scene in an AR game. She controlled the robotic arm through a viewing mirror and performed a prostate cancer resection surgery on an 80-year-old male patient in Quanzhou, 800 kilometers away.

The patient cannot run

Then reach out your hand

Lao Jiang (pseudonym), who suffers from prostate cancer, has not been in good health. He has wanted to go to Hangzhou many times to see Professor Xia Dan for robotic surgery, but was unable to go due to health reasons. He could only consult Professor Xia Dan online. When Professor Xia Dan learned about this, he contacted Quanzhou First Hospital where Lao Jiang was being treated, and decided to perform a 5G remote multi-arm robot radical prostate cancer resection surgery remotely in Hangzhou for Lao Jiang who was far away in Quanzhou.

"If the patient cannot run and it is inconvenient for him to come to Hangzhou for surgery, then I will 'reach out' to Quanzhou to perform surgery on him." Professor Xia Dan's heartwarming move has brought a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of urology. This initiative also marks an important step forward for Chinese medical technology on the international stage.

"We have been preparing for more than two years to take this step." Director Xia Dan said that although the entire operation went smoothly, it does not mean that the operation is simple. Robotic surgery has significant advantages such as minimally invasive, precise, flexible, and tremor-filtering, but it has high requirements for operating doctors. They must have rich clinical experience and participate in relevant training and examinations before they can be certified to work. Zhejiang University First Hospital is the first unit in the province to introduce surgical robots. The Robotic Surgery Center has currently performed more than 12,000 operations, making it the medical center with the largest number of operations in the country, including more than 9,500 urology operations. The rich practical accumulation and the guarantee of the comprehensive strength of the hospital are the basis for completing this operation.

"Although this is not the world's first 5G surgery, it is one of the most complex types of 5G surgery." In order to minimize the risk of surgery and protect patients at all times, Wang Shuo, deputy director of the first phase of urology department of Quanzhou First Hospital, and Ye Sunyi, deputy chief physician, arrived at the headquarters of Quanzhou First Hospital the day before the surgery and kept an eye on the patient on the operating table in the operating room to ensure that the surgery was foolproof. At the first phase of the robot training center of the headquarters of Zhejiang University First Hospital, the relevant engineering team was also on standby at all times.

The rise of domestic technology

Surgeons’ hands reach further

"During the operation, I didn't feel any delay at all. I was in a trance while I was doing it, thinking that the patient was lying on the operating table next to me." As one of the country's top urology robotic surgery experts, Professor Xia Dan admitted that her only concern for this operation was the poor network. She laughed and said that the "hero behind the scenes" that helped the operation achieve "zero delay" was the 5G network. As of the end of April 2023, the total number of 5G base stations in China reached 2.733 million, which also created conditions for the development of 5G ultra-long-distance robotic surgery.

"We have been committed to the clinical research and development of domestic robots and have participated in the clinical verification of a number of robots that have been approved in China." Professor Xia Dan said that the completion of 5G remote radical prostatectomy marks that remote surgery can not only complete simple surgical operations, but also undertake complex and delicate minimally invasive surgical operations.

The key is the rapid development of domestic surgical robot research and development. At present, the core software and hardware have broken the technical barriers and are all self-developed and self-produced. The application scenarios of 5G remote multi-arm robots will also be more extensive. Professor Xia Dan said: "For example, in remote mountainous areas and places with underdeveloped transportation, when natural disasters occur, it is difficult for medical rescue forces to arrive. We can use telemedicine to perform surgical trauma treatment."

In March 2023, Zhejiang University First Hospital took the lead in establishing a surgical robot training center in China. Many doctors from Hong Kong, Macao, and even Southeast Asia came for training to learn about robotic surgery. At the same time, they will further bring the technology back to benefit local people.

The success of the world's first 5G remote multi-arm robot radical prostatectomy surgery highlights the leading position of Zhejiang University First Hospital in the field of urology medical technology and provides strong support for the development of telemedicine. With the continuous popularization and development of 5G technology, telemedicine will become an important trend in future medical care. The application of remote surgery will enable better allocation of medical resources and make medical services more inclusive and convenient.

"Challenging the cutting-edge and performing surgeries that others cannot complete", Zhejiang University First Hospital, as one of the first national medical center establishment units and a national pilot unit for high-quality development of public hospitals, will always focus on the urgent needs of the national health strategy, serve the Healthy China strategy, fully respond to the requirements of the times for medical development, and go all out to build a national medical center with high quality to create a "national weapon" in the field of health.