Dr. Chris Maes, a urologist based in Lisbon, remotely performed complex kidney surgeries on two pigs in Shanghai from Lisbon. This is a first in Europe.

On April 20, Hospital da Luz achieved another major breakthrough in technology and surgery by successfully performing Portugal’s first remote surgery. More specifically, this is the first remote partial nephrectomy in Europe and the second in the world using the Shurui® single-port robot.

Dr. Chris Maes, Director of the Robotic Surgery Center at Hospital da Luz in Lisbon, served as the lead surgeon for this procedure. These surgeries are innovative explorations in Portugal and across Europe and remain at an experimental stage. Operating remotely from Lisbon, he performed kidney surgeries on two pigs located more than 10,000 kilometers away in Shanghai, China.

The remote surgery took place at the Learning Health Simulation Center of Hospital da Luz. According to Chris Maes, "The surgery was very successful." Each procedure lasted approximately one and a half hours, connected via a direct communication link without interference to the training center of Shurui, the surgical robot manufacturer based in Shanghai. The doctor successfully completed two partial nephrectomies, removing tumors from the animals' kidneys, with no intraoperative bleeding and no complications. The single-port robot used in this surgery comes from the Chinese brand Shurui®. According to the doctor, the robot features innovative snake-like Instruments that is one of a kind worldwide.

"We have taken a major step forward in general surgery and robotic urology," he said with obvious satisfaction  after completing the second surgery. "Hospital da Luz is once again the first," he added. "This is not only the first remote surgery in Portugal but also the first robotic urological remote surgery in Europe using a single-port system, meaning all operations are performed through just one hole in the patient's body," Dr. Chris Maes concluded.

Dr. Chris Maes has 20 years of experience in robotic surgery, has worked at Hospital da Luz for over 15 years, and pioneered the initiation of the robotic surgery program in Portugal. As a result, Hospital da Luz was the first in Portugal to widely apply this surgical technology and has since led the transformation and innovation in this field.