Triple-console robotic telesurgery: first impressions and future impact.

Area of Science:

• Surgical Technology
• Robotic Surgery
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Telesurgery, an evolution of robotic surgery, expands access to expert care and facilitates remote collaboration.
• Traditional telesurgery often involves a single remote console, but complex procedures may require multiple remote surgeons.
• Exploring multi-console telesurgery is crucial for advancing collaborative surgical practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the experience and outcomes of a novel triple-console telesurgery procedure.
• To evaluate the feasibility of three surgeons operating from three separate cities for a single patient.
• To assess the safety and efficacy of multi-location telesurgery in a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• A robot-assisted radical prostatectomy was performed using a triple-console setup with three surgeons in three distinct locations.
• The Kangduo Endosopic Surgical Robot (KD-SR-01, Sagebot Medical) was utilized for the procedure.
• Surgeons were located in Beijing, Hunan, and Hainan, with the patient in Hainan.

Main Results:

• The procedure was completed successfully in approximately 120 minutes with no intra- or postoperative complications.
• Estimated blood loss was 100 ml, and the patient ambulated 4 hours post-surgery.
• Final pathology revealed ISUP Grade Group 4 prostate cancer with negative surgical margins.

Conclusions:

• Multi-surgeon, multi-location telesurgery is feasible and can be performed safely.
• Low-latency connections over telecommunication networks support complex telesurgical interventions.
• This approach expands the possibilities for collaborative expert surgical care delivery.