Doctors use robot to perform heart surgery from other side of the world

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For the first time ever, doctors successfully used a robot to perform heart surgery on a patient in another country. The patient was over 6,200 miles away, making it a groundbreaking achievement in international medical care.

I was so amazed to read about this! Apparently, on October 23, 2025, doctors performed an incredible surgery using a robot. Professor Wang Yan, who heads up the Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital, teamed up with Professor Lionel Leroux from France, and together they remotely controlled a surgical robot to operate on a patient in Xiamen. The patient was 73 years old, and it’s just mind-blowing that they could do this from so far away! The Fujian Provincial Government announced it, and it feels like a huge step forward for medical technology.

I was so relieved to learn the doctors were doing a TEER procedure on my heart! It’s this amazing, minimally invasive way to fix the mitral valve – they can actually repair it without having to do open-heart surgery, which is incredible!

Surgeons in France successfully performed an operation using a robot, controlling it remotely over a fast network connection. The procedure, which took about an hour, went smoothly with no issues.

Doctors use robot to perform surgery 10,000 km+ away

This system has been used successfully in China before, but this is the first time it’s being implemented for an international operation.

Local leaders hailed the successful procedure as a significant advancement in treating heart conditions from a distance. They highlighted China’s increasing expertise in cutting-edge medical robotics and its ability to work with international partners.

A Chinese doctor successfully performed the world’s first remote heart surgery using a robot. While located in Bordeaux, France, the doctor used a Chinese-made surgical robot to operate on a patient in Xiamen, China – a distance of over 6,200 miles (10,000 kilometers).

— Li Zexin 李泽欣 (@XH_Lee23) November 11, 2025

Remote robotic surgery isn’t new – it’s been around for decades, with a notable early example being the 2001 operation connecting New York and Strasbourg. However, this is the first instance of a heart surgery being successfully performed by a surgeon in one country on a patient in another.

The patient recovered completely and went home shortly after surgery. Hospital staff said the outcome was excellent.

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2025-11-12 17:20