First remote 5G breast cancer surgery a success

A 72-year-old woman who was the country's first patient to receive a remotely controlled breast surgery via 5G technology is in recovery and will soon leave the hospital in the Pukou district of Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province.

The woman, surnamed Mao, had breast cancer and received medical treatment at the Pukou branch of the Jiangsu Provincial Hospital.

At 9 am on July 3, doctors led by Jiang Ping prepared for the surgery while Tang Jinhai, an expert on breast cancer, stayed 20 kilometers away at hospital headquarters to direct the procedure.

With the help of 5G and mixed reality technologies, the signal transmission was smooth and stable during the operation, and Tang designed the surgical incision on a projection board and instructed the local doctors to operate.

During the surgery, doctors asked questions and Tang answered in real time. Two hours later, the tumor was removed completely.

Tang said 5G and MR technologies will make big hospitals and local branches work more closely together, have more online group consultations and share more high-quality resources, which can be widely used in diagnosis and treatment of many complex and severe cases.

This is the second attempt of a 5G and MR-assisted operation; the hospital succeeded in the country's first remote lung surgery on May 13.

In January this year, a surgeon in East China's Fujian province performed the world's first remote surgery using 5G technology. 64 kilometers from the operating location, the surgeon removed the liver of a laboratory animal with a manipulator arm.