World’s longest remote surgery? Doctor performs cancer surgery on patient 12,000 km away

In a remarkable feat, French surgeon Dr. Youness Ahallal recently performed a

prostate cancer surgery

on a patient in Morocco, who was 12,000 kilometers away. In what took less than two hours to complete with extreme precision, the operation may set a new record as the longest remote human surgery.
Dr Ahallal used a Chinese-made

remote surgery

robot in east China’s Shanghai to achieve this significant medical advancement. According to a report in Xinhua, the procedure was done with the help of

Toumai Robot

, which allowed for real-time, high-definition imaging and precise control of the machine from a great distance.
According to the news agency, this intercontinental operation, with a two-way transmission distance exceeding 30,000 kilometers, set a new record as the longest remote human surgery.
Dr. Ahallal, operating from Shanghai, China, completed the procedure in under two hours, with a remarkable one-way latency of just over 100 milliseconds. The Toumai Robot’s robotic arm in Morocco seamlessly replicated every movement made by the surgeon, allowing him to remove the prostate tumor, perform suturing, and preserve critical tissues with exceptional accuracy. Even more impressive, this sophisticated procedure was achieved using a standard broadband connection, without the need for 5G technology.

This followed an October surgery to remove a renal cyst, performed with the help of the Toumai Robot, between Shanghai and Cotonou, Benin, covering a round-trip distance of 27,000 kilometers.
Remote surgery holds a great promise as it can enable patients to globally access top-notch surgeons even eliminating the need for international travel. It also allows senior surgeons to remotely mentor junior colleagues in performing high-difficulty surgeries.

He Chao, president of MicroPort MedBot that develops the robot, believes the remote technology will bring “disruptive changes to future medical services.”
“Our goal is to make remote surgery a routine practice,” he said.
Chao told Xinhua that Toumai Robot has been used in over 250 5G ultra-long-distance surgeries with a 100 percent success rate, and the accumulated transmission distance covered was over 400,000 kilometers.
The rise of surgical robots, particularly from Chinese tech startups, signals a major shift in the global healthcare landscape. Industry projections estimate the Chinese surgical robot market will reach $38.4 billion by 2026, outpacing global growth and paving the way for more sophisticated, accessible medical technology worldwide.

What is robotic assisted radical prostatectomy?

Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy is a minimally invasive surgery performed with the aid of advanced robotic technology. This system enhances the surgeon’s vision, control, and precision, allowing them to perform the procedure with tiny, wristed instruments that offer a greater range of motion than the human wrist.
During the surgery, the surgeon operates from a console, never needing to enter the patient’s body cavity directly. Compared to traditional open surgery, patients undergoing robotic-assisted prostatectomy typically experience less blood loss, reduced pain, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery times. While recovery time for the catheter remains the same as with open surgery, the procedure’s minimally invasive nature reduces the risk of complications such as bleeding, infection, and damage to surrounding tissues and organs.