{"id":631,"date":"2025-11-22T12:02:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/?p=631"},"modified":"2025-11-22T12:02:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:02:39","slug":"a-doctor-in-rome-just-performed-live-cancer-surgery-on-a-patient-in-beijing-in-a-historic-medical-breakthrough-a-chinese-surgical-team-has-performed-the-worlds-first-transcontinental-robot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/?p=631","title":{"rendered":"A doctor in Rome just performed live cancer surgery on a patient in Beijing!  In a historic medical breakthrough, a Chinese surgical team has performed the world\u2019s first transcontinental robotic prostate surgery, with the operating surgeon stationed in Rome and the patient located in Beijing\u2014over 5,000 miles apart.   Utilizing ultra-fast 5G and fiber-optic connections, Dr. Zhang Xu precisely manipulated robotic instruments with sub-135 millisecond latency, allowing for seamless real-time control nearly indistinguishable from in-person procedures.  The operation, conducted at the PLA General Hospital and streamed live to a global audience of surgeons, represents a giant leap forward in telesurgery. By proving that complex procedures can be safely performed across continents, this technology opens doors to advanced care for patients in remote, underserved, or conflict-ridden regions. The future of surgery, it seems, may no longer be limited by geography.  Source: South China Morning Post. Chinese doctor performs world\u2019s first transcontinental robotic surgery between Beijing and Rome."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"02eb8743c28d6c1e6f2b405980996749\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : 'c8310ef23effe95e5309c38cfaf056e0',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 250,\r\n    'width' : 300,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/passivealexis.com\/c8310ef23effe95e5309c38cfaf056e0\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>In a groundbreaking medical achievement, a team led by Dr Zhang Xu performed the world\u2019s first live transcontinental robotic prostate cancer surgery \u2014 with the surgeon physically located in Rome (Italy) and the patient in Beijing (China).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The operation took place while Dr Zhang oversaw the robotic console remotely from Rome, guiding robotic arms in Beijing to remove a cancerous prostate in real time. The distance between the two cities is more than 8,000 km (about 5,000 miles).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Key to the success of this procedure was ultra-reliable connectivity: a mix of high-speed 5G mobile network and fibre-optic links kept latency below 135 milliseconds, making remote manipulation of surgical tools feel nearly like being in the same room.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Why this matters<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Remote or \u201ctelesurgery\u201d has long been a promising but challenging frontier in medicine. While robotic surgery itself is well established, controlling surgical robots from another continent introduces serious hurdles \u2014 especially communication delay and reliability. By overcoming those hurdles, this procedure pushes the field forward significantly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dr Zhang described the experience as being \u201calmost the same as on-site surgery,\u201d and noted that one of the greatest technical challenges was ensuring the signal delay stayed so low that the surgeon\u2019s commands and the robot\u2019s responses remained in sync.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How it worked<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The patient was at the People\u2019s Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, accompanied by an on-site medical team and a backup surgeon.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dr Zhang operated from a console in Rome, controlling the surgical robot\u2019s arms in Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Real-time video feed, instrument feedback and robotic responses were transmitted via the combined 5 G and fibre links.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The removal of the prostate cancer lesion proceeded smoothly, and the data suggests that the remote control was precise and safe.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Potential impact<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This achievement opens up several possibilities:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Surgeons highly specialised in particular cancers could operate on patients in remote or underserved areas without needing to relocate the patient or the surgeon.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In conflict zones, disaster areas or remote regions, expert care could be delivered remotely when local surgical capacity is limited.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hospitals might share resources more easily: a centre of excellence could extend its reach globally, helping reduce geographical disparities in access to advanced surgical care.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Things to watch<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Of course, this is not yet standard practice. Some of the challenges ahead include:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ensuring ultra-low latency and high reliability of networks in various geographies (both urban and rural).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Handling technical failures or emergencies when the surgeon is remote; backup teams must be ready on site.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Training medical and technical teams for these hybrid operations (robotics + telecommunications).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Addressing regulatory, legal and liability questions across countries (which surgeon is responsible if something goes wrong, how to credential cross-border practice).<\/p>\n<p>The Roman-to-Beijing procedure marks a milestone in surgical innovation. While one patient and one kind of surgery don\u2019t rewrite the rulebook overnight, this successful demonstration shows that geography need not always limit access to top-tier surgical expertise. For patients and medical systems alike, that could translate into more equitable care, faster access to specialist operations and new models of global health collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In short: the future of surgery may indeed be borderless.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a groundbreaking medical achievement, a team led by Dr Zhang Xu performed the world\u2019s first live transcontinental robotic prostate cancer surgery \u2014 with the surgeon physically located in Rome (Italy) and the patient in Beijing (China). &nbsp; The operation took place while Dr Zhang oversaw the robotic console remotely from Rome, guiding robotic arms\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/?p=631\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astronomynews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}