Domestically Built Robot Assists Surgery on Child in Shanghai

China's first minimally invasive general surgery for children assisted by a domestically built robot has been successfully completed in Shanghai Children's Medical Center on Tuesday.

The pioneering case is expected to break foreign monopoly in surgical robots and bring safer and more affordable surgical options for patients in China.After doctors completed the intestinal anastomosis on the child, an octopus-like surgical robot with multiple arms entered the fray. After docking with the peritoneal cavity, the chief surgeon removed the cyst remotely.

The whole operation was extremely difficult and lasted about 8 hours. The addition of surgical robots can help reduce the doctors' working load and fatigue, and improve the accuracy and flexibility of surgical operations.It also has the advantages of being able to operate with smaller cuts, and thus less bleeding and faster healing.The use of this surgical robot will also significantly reduce the cost of hospital procurement and use.

Shanghai Children's Medical Center said that it would explore and try out the new domestically built surgical robot in more fields to help the development and application of China-built advanced medical devices.