Using domestically-made 5G surgical robots, doctors in Shanghai performed a remote lung cancer surgery on a patient in Kashgar prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, 5,000 kilometers away.

"The success of the operation demonstrates that our domestic robotic surgery technology in thoracic surgery has further overcome spatial limitations," said Luo Qingquan, academic leader of the oncology department at Shanghai Chest Hospital and the lead surgeon.

"With this technology, patients in remote areas can access top-tier medical services without traveling to big cities."

The surgical robots were developed by Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co. The patient, a middle-aged woman, had a growing lump in her right lung that was identified three years ago. Luo and his team deemed her a suitable candidate for remote robotic surgery after reviewing her medical records.

A preoperative consultation via video linkup between Shanghai Chest Hospital and Kashgar Prefecture No 2 People's Hospital, where the woman was admitted, allowed doctors to discuss the preparations and the surgical plan in detail.

The surgery lasted an hour and proceeded smoothly. Luo manipulated the robotic arms in Shanghai, transmitting real-time instructions to the robotic arms in Kashgar, which precisely mirrored his movements to dissect, separate, cut and suture.

"I felt as though I was literally operating the robotic arms on-site in Kashgar. It was perfectly simultaneous," Luo said.

Chen Tianxiang, a chest surgeon from Shanghai Chest Hospital currently assisting at the Kashgar hospital, led a team in the operating room for real-time discussion and coordination with the Shanghai team.

"Robotic surgery is one of the most advanced minimally invasive technologies, offering patients higher accuracy, smaller wounds and faster recovery," Luo said.

Robots enhance the surgeon's field of vision 10 to 15 times with three-dimensional, high-definition images, and their arms filter out human hand tremors for improved precision.

Shanghai Chest Hospital was the first medical institution on the Chinese mainland to carry out robot-assisted chest surgeries. It was also the first hospital in the country to perform more than 1,000 chest surgeries assisted by surgical robots a year.