Long-distance surgery: How a doctor in China operated on a patient in Hyderabad 3,900 km away

Once perceived as a wild imagination, it has now turned into a clinical reality. Dr Syed Mohammed Ghouse, director of robotic and minimal access urological surgery, Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology (AINU), Hyderabad, performed a first-of-its-kind robotic bladder reconnection surgery on a patient while seated inside a control room at Tongji Hospital in China, around 3,900 km away. 

Calling it a medical breakthrough, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India posted on X about how a China-based robot and 5G technology helped provide life-saving care that transcended boundaries. The 90-minute procedure has now become the first tele-robotic ureteric reimplantation of its kind in the world, performed remotely across this scale and distance. 

A robotic surgery does not require a doctor standing over a patient’s console with medical equipment. Instead, the surgeon sits at a console, watches a magnified 3D of the body, and controls robotic arms using hand movements. 

What changed with this surgery was simply the distance. Giving a prime example of a telesurgery, Dr Ghouse sat on a console in China and controlled the robot from there.

According to China Daily report, Ghouse observed real-time, magnified high-definition 3D images transmitted from the operating room through a binocular-style viewer, his hands working a set of controls that wouldn't look out of place in an old arcade. From this position, he guided the arms through the surgery. The robotic arms replicated the doctor's movements inside the patient's body. 5G network transmitted the instructions within 200 milliseconds.

The local medical staff stood by in the operating room to take over the surgery in case of an emergency. “What stood out the most was the experience; it truly felt as though I was operating in my own OR. The precision, responsiveness, and seamless integration made the entire procedure incredibly smooth. A special shoutout to the Toumai robot by Medbot @Healthware,” Dr Ghouse shared on LinkedIn.