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A doctor in Shanghai operated on a patient 5,000 km away using a surgical robot, according to a News 18 report.
The article notes that a video of the incredible surgery was doing the rounds on the internet. The Shanghai-based doctor reportedly removed a tumour from the lung of a patient located in a place called Kashgar, almost 5,000 km away.
The surgery took only about an hour to be completed.
The report adds that the information office of the Shanghai municipality stated that this the surgery was carried out by doctors from Shanghai Chest Hospital after “detailed clinical research” and by making use of “domestically-made surgical robots.” The surgery was carried out by Dr Luo Qingquan, the chief surgeon, with a few assistants in support.
After the operation was successfully completed, Dr Luo said that the success of the surgery is a new medical feat which can benefit patients in remote places especially rural areas. It also shows the strength of a domestically built surgical robot.
'X', formerly known as Twitter, was abuzz with chatter about the remarkable feat.
A user wrote on 'X', "A surgeon in China successfully removed a lung tumor from a patient while being 5000 km away. The doctor operated the machine remotely from his office in Shanghai, while the patient was in Kashgar, located on the opposite side of the country. The entire operation was completed in an hour."
Another user wrote, "Remote Robotic minimal access surgery is the future trend. And it is already here. Medical science has progressed so much, yet we do not know multitude of things in human body. That is the way medical science progresses, gradually."
While some users hailed the engineering marvel behind the technology that made the surgery possible, others cheered the "medical miracle".
Another user praised the medical advancement of the country, "China is a real new super power in all ways."