Strasbourg, France — At 8:00 AM local time on July 19, during the prestigious annual congress of the Society of Robotic Surgery (SRS)—a leading global event in the field of robot-assisted surgery—Dr. Liang Xiao, Chief Surgeon of the Department of General Surgery at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, successfully performed a robot-assisted left hepatic lobectomy on a patient located more than 10,000 kilometers away in Hangzhou, China. Using the Toumai^® surgical robot, this procedure marks the world’s first intercontinental robot-assisted liver cancer resection, according to publicly available information. The historic event was livestreamed globally and witnessed by over 2,500 surgeons, clinicians, researchers, industry leaders, and regulatory officials from dozens of countries.

The patient, Mr. Wu, an 80-year-old resident of Hangzhou, was the beneficiary of this groundbreaking surgery. With a 20-year history of chronic hepatitis B, he underwent open resection of liver segment VII for hepatocellular carcinoma 14 years ago. More recently, he received a left carotid endarterectomy and underwent radiotherapy-based conversion therapy for a tumor in the left lobe of the liver. This extensive medical history significantly increased the complexity and risk of the procedure.

Prior to the operation, the surgical team conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the patient’s liver functional reserve and developed a meticulously planned resection strategy. Informed consent was obtained for the use of remote robotic-assisted surgery. During the operation, Dr. Liang performed a series of highly precise and coordinated maneuvers, including adhesiolysis, tumor localization and assessment, liver mobilization, resection margin planning, intraoperative hemostasis, parenchymal transection, and wound bed management. The procedure was executed seamlessly and successfully completed in just 50 minutes.

Throughout the surgery, the Toumai^® robotic system demonstrated exceptional stability, delivering real-time high-definition visualization and smooth voice interaction. Surgical teams in Strasbourg and Hangzhou collaborated in perfect synchrony, achieving all pre-defined surgical goals with outstanding precision and safety.

International experts observing the live procedure were deeply impressed by the capabilities of the domestically developed Toumai^® system, as well as by Dr. Liang’s surgical expertise, composure, meticulous planning, and adherence to standardized technique. The word "excellent" resonated throughout the broadcast. Dr. Liang also exchanged technical insights with Professor Li Zheyong, Vice President of the Aral branch of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, and the session’s moderators, discussing surgical strategy and instrument selection. He extended invitations to international experts for future academic exchanges in Hangzhou.

As one of the first hospitals in China to implement robot-assisted surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital has played a key role in the research, development, and clinical validation of the Toumai^® robotic platform. In February 2023, in collaboration with Professor Li Zheyong’s team in Aral, the hospital performed the world’s first 5G-enabled ultra-remote robotic cholecystectomy using the Toumai^® system, inaugurating a new paradigm of "ultra-remote surgery."

Since then, the hospital has gone on to complete several additional world-first procedures using 5G-connected Toumai^® robots—including left lateral hepatic lobectomy, right hemihepatectomy, and spleen-preserving pancreatic tumor resection—all conducted across vast distances. These milestones further confirm the feasibility, reliability, and transformative potential of remote robotic surgery in overcoming spatial limitations and shaping the future of global surgical care.