On March 6, 2026, Prokar Dasgupta, Director of the Robotic Centre of Excellence at The London Clinic, remotely operated the Toumai^® Surgical Robot manufactured by MicroPort^® from London to perform a robot-assisted prostatectomy on a prostate cancer patient located 2,400 km away in Gibraltar. The procedure marks the first remote robotic surgery performed from the UK.

The surgery was enabled by a high-speed fiber-optic connection with a 5G backup link, achieving an ultra-low one-way latency of just 30 milliseconds. Professor Dasgupta noted: “The surgery went extremely well. It almost felt as if I were physically in the operating room in Gibraltar.” To ensure patient safety, a full surgical team remained on-site in Gibraltar, ready to take over the procedure immediately if required.

At a follow-up four days after surgery, the patient reported recovering well and said: “It’s been a privilege to be part of medical history.”

The case represents a significant milestone for the development of telesurgery in Europe, demonstrating the potential of combining advanced robotic surgery with high-speed network infrastructure to deliver expert surgical care to patients in remote regions.

Professor Dasgupta also highlighted the broader value of telesurgery, noting that it can reduce the cost and inconvenience associated with cross-border medical travel. He said: “This technology gives us the opportunity to treat patients in remote areas and smaller communities. Through technology, we can bring the best surgeons anywhere.”

Al Russell, chief executive at The London Clinic, said: “The London Clinic is proud to be part of medical history and we have a strong reputation for medical firsts.” “We hope more patients will be able to benefit from this incredible medical breakthrough.”

The next remote procedure is scheduled for March 14 and will be live-streamed to more than 20,000 urologists worldwide at the European Association of Urology Annual Congress at Excel in London.

The case was also covered by the BBC： https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq577v126g9o