From November 25 to 27, 2022, the 19^th Annual Academic Conference of the Surgery Branch of Jiangxi Medical Association and the 3^rd Annual Academic Conference of the Surgery Branch of the Jiangxi Integrative Medicine Society and the 9^th Jiangxi Gastrointestinal Minimally Invasive Summit Forum were grandly held online. The epidemic could not stop the enthusiasm of the participants, and this academic event brought together more than 300 experts and colleagues to share and exchange their experiences on new and hot issues in the field of surgery. The conference provided a wealth of topics, with both theoretical discussions and surgery broadcast, perfectly illustrating the conference purpose of inheritance, standardization and innovation.

The conference was organized by Jiangxi Medical Association and Jiangxi Society of Integrative Medicine, and hosted by the Department of General Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. MicroPort^® MedBot^® deeply participated in the conference with product presentation and academic research sharing, and introduced the surgical profile and advantages of Toumai^® to the participants. Prof. Shanping Ye from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University vividly explained the operation cases and intraoperative performance of the Toumai^®, leaving a deep impression of "striving for the first class and challenging all difficulties" for the guests on domestic robots.

The opening ceremony of the conference was held on November 26, 2022, and Prof. Taiyuan Li, Chief Physician of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, delivered a wonderful speech as the executive chairman of the conference. He first expressed his deep appreciation for the attention and support of domestic and foreign experts, and then proposed the purpose and vision of the conference. Based on the achievements made by general surgery in Jiangxi Province, such as robotic gastrointestinal surgery and organ transplantation surgery that rank among the top in the country, he suggested that there is still an uphill, arduous journey ahead, and he looked forward to developing the cause of general surgery in the province and the country by collaborating with more colleagues in the industry.

Dr. Takahiro KINOSHITA, Gastric Surgery Department, Eastern National Cancer Center Hospital, Japan, Prof. Zhengming Peng, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, China, Prof. Zhaowen Wu, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prof. Xianjun Yu, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Prof. Xishan Wang, Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Science, and many other guests delivered wonderful academic lectures at the meeting.

The 19^th Annual Academic Conference of the Surgery Branch of Jiangxi Medical Association was held in 2022, and the main agenda started in the afternoon of November 26 in the form of academic lectures, surgical demonstrations and expert reviews. It contained seven sessions, that is, colorectal session, gastrointestinal session, hepatobiliary and pancreatic session, breast hernia session, thyroid session, vascular surgery session, and nursing session. The conference guests and audience benefited a lot from the rich academic insights throughout the day. The experts gathered insights, academic resources, and academic talents on the latest advances in the field of general surgery, creating a platform for academic exchange and friendship among all the members.

Dr. Takahiro KINOSHITA, a specialist with extensive experience in robotic surgery in Japan, shared a number of clinical cases of robotic surgery performed by his team. He pointed out that compared to conventional laparoscopic surgery, gastroduodenal anastomosis can be performed with ease using the omnidirectional joint of the robotic anastomosis. In addition, the robot excels in suturing. According to the empirical and retrospective clinical data, their conclusions show that robotic surgery may enhance the quality of surgery, especially in difficult cases, such as TG/PG or advanced disease, obese patients, or after neoadjuvant therapy, and has the potential to reduce the probability of postoperative complications.

This also shows that robotic surgery, as an important subdiscipline in the era of micro-trauma surgery, is highly valued in the field of surgery both at home and abroad. Guided by the "Healthy China" initiative put forward on the 20^th CPC National Congress, Toumai^® Laparoscopic Surgical Robot, as a leader in the domestic field, will also contribute to the development of domestic minimal invasive surgery through its stable, reliable performance and fine, flexible operation experience.

In the satellite meeting session of MicroPort^® MedBot^®, Prof. Shanping Ye brought an academic sharing entitled "Right Hemicolectomy with the Assistance of Chinese-developed Toumai^®" to the participants. The case of the Toumai^® Laparoscopic robot assisted counterclockwise flip book right hemicolectomy by the middle approach route, performed by Prof. Taiyuan Li, the teacher of Prof. Shanping Ye, presented the stable and excellent auxiliary function of the Toumai^® robot during the surgery.

The twenty-minute course was very rich in detailed content. Prof. Ye introduced that Prof. Taiyuan Li's team had completed Toumai^®-assisted radical left hemicolectomy, radical rectal cancer surgery, radical right hemicolectomy, and some surgeries on benign lesions, and all achieved good surgical results. He mainly explained the intermediate approach counterclockwise flip book right hemicolectomy assisted by Toumai^® Laparoscopic Surgical Robot for the guests, introducing the preoperative plan and results in all aspects, from the patient's background information, to the operating room layout, body position and Trocar distribution, to the surgical procedure and techniques.

The patient in this clinical case was a 56-year-old female who was admitted two weeks after hemorrhage in the stool, and the pathology showed an adenoma (of the ascending colon), mostly showing low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia with high-grade focal. The procedure was smooth and successful, and was completed with the assistance of Toumai^® through intraluminal freeing, dissection, debridement, and removal of the tumor specimen.

Prof. Yi pointed out that the technical level of Toumai^® is not significantly different from that of advanced foreign instruments, especially the vision cart and the surgeon console, which are already comparable to advanced foreign technologies. The operator will enjoy convenient experience after getting used to the patient cart.

The operating experience also outperforms that of traditional laparoscopy: for example, the 10-15 times magnified field of view enables the surgeon to be more immersive during the procedure. Secondly, the rotatable wrist surgical instruments allow for easier freeing of the needle holder, which is more conducive to intracavitary suturing. In addition, the intuitive movement of the robot can also help the surgeon achieve synchronous coordination among eyes, hands and the device tip. Of course, not only does it provide convenience for the operator, but it also has many benefits for the patient in terms of surgical outcomes. Most research findings show that the robot can further reduce patient bleeding, access more lymph nodes and narrow surgical incisions compared to traditional laparoscopy.

Prof. Shanping Ye pointed out that compared with traditional laparotomy and laparoscopic surgery, robots can perform more minimally invasive and precise surgery. However, at present, surgical robots are generally only found in tertiary hospitals in China, and it is believed that the launch of Chinese-developed robots, such as Toumai^®, can make robotic surgery more accessible in municipal- and county-level hospitals, empowering local doctors to improve their diagnosis and treatment techniques and benefiting more patients.

In this season when the sky is clear and the ground is full of gold, fellow experts in domestic and foreign surgery gathered at the 19^th Annual Academic Conference of the Surgery Branch of Jiangxi Medical Association in 2022, and also returned with master ideas and cutting-edge achievements. MicroPort^® MedBot^® is honored to participate in this event to discuss new clinical research and discoveries. In the future, we will devote ourselves to the medical-industrial cooperation to refine our products and better serve the medical and patient communities, so as to realize our original intention of "Make Surgery Easier, Safer and Less Invasive".