[Current and Future of Telesurgery Surgery in Japan]

In 2001, a robotic remote cholecystectomy was conducted between France and the United States, showing the world that telesurgery is a realistic procedure. In Japan, research on telesurgery has been started since 2002. Several attempts have been made, including an international telesurgery. At that time, high-speed telecommunications had not yet been developed, and robotic surgery itself was not yet well accepted by the general public, therefore telesurgery was not successfully implemented. In recent years, however, the number of robot-assisted surgeries has increased rapidly in Japan. In addition, the shortage of physicians in rural areas and an aging society are rapidly increasing the need for online medical services (other than surgery). The Japan Surgical Society(JSS)has taken the lead in conducting many feasibility studies for the clinical introduction of telesurgery, and moves toward its realization are now in progress. In addition to Japan, China, India, and the United States are also conducting clinical studies to realize telesurgery, and it is expected that telesurgery will be introduced in earnest in many countries in the near future.