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Procedure connected China and Brazil through surgical robotics, with remote operation by a Brazilian doctor and an on-site team in Porto Alegre during a gallbladder removal.
A robotic telesurgery procedure connected Wuhan, China, to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, for the removal of a 47-year-old patient’s gallbladder at Hospital Mãe de Deus.
The operation was conducted by general and robotic surgeon Norberto Martins, who remotely controlled the movements via the Chinese robot Toumai, while a medical team remained in the Brazilian surgical center.
The surgery took place on May 20, 2026 and was presented by the hospital as one of the longest-distance telesurgeries ever performed in the world.
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Between Wuhan and Porto Alegre, the distance reported by the involved institutions is about 18,900 kilometers in a straight line.
The procedure was part of an international scientific program.
The operation was part of the 10th Academic Congress of the Chinese Section of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, held in China from May 18 to 24.
How robotic telesurgery connected China and Brazil
Norberto Martins was at a console in Wuhan, from where he activated the surgical commands.
In Porto Alegre, the robotic arms installed at Hospital Mãe de Deus reproduced the movements during the procedure.
The surgery was a cholecystectomy, the technical term for gallbladder removal.
According to information released by the portal G1, the operation was successfully completed and had the on-site support of doctor Guilherme Pesce, coordinator of the Surgery Service at Mãe de Deus, who accompanied the patient in Brazil.
The technology allows the surgeon to operate with enhanced vision and movements controlled by a robotic platform.
The robot, however, does not operate autonomously.
It responds to the doctor’s commands, who remains responsible for conducting the surgery and making decisions during the procedure.
According to information released by those involved in the operation, the movements made by the surgeon in Wuhan were transmitted to the robot in Porto Alegre with a response time of about 200 milliseconds, an interval of less than a quarter of a second.
What changes in a surgery performed with a robot
Robotic surgery is a minimally invasive technique.
Instead of large incisions, the procedure usually uses small accesses, through which a camera and instruments controlled by the robotic system enter.
Among the features mentioned by hospitals using the technology are image magnification, movement stability, and reduction of involuntary tremors.
According to specialists in the field, these characteristics can favor delicate maneuvers in anatomically difficult-to-access regions.
In the case of Hospital Mãe de Deus, the Toumai robot is described by the institution as a platform prepared for advanced telesurgery.
The hospital reported that it was the first institution in the South region to acquire the system and that, in October 2025, it performed the first non-experimental robotic telesurgery in Latin America in partnership with Hospital Nove de Julho, in São Paulo.
Besides Toumai, Mãe de Deus maintains other robotic systems in its technological park.
Among them are the Mazor, used in spinal procedures, and the CORI, aimed at orthopedic surgeries.
Brazilian hospitals expand the use of robotic surgery
The operation between China and Brazil occurs in a context of expansion of surgical robotics in Brazilian hospitals.
The technology has started to be used in assistance, teaching, and research programs in different institutions across the country.
In Porto Alegre, the Hospital São Lucas of PUCRS performed its first robotic surgery in January 2026.
The procedure was a pulmonary thoracic surgery on a patient from the Unified Health System, using the Versius platform from CMR Surgical.
The university hospital reported that the program was created to integrate surgical precision, care safety, and medical training.
The institution also states that the technology offers enhanced three-dimensional vision, stability, and technical refinement, always under the surgeon’s control.
This point is relevant to differentiate robotic surgery from automation.
Despite the name, the robot does not replace the professional.
The platform functions as an extension of the doctor’s commands, with articulated instruments and imaging resources used during the operation.
Medical training keeps pace with advances in surgical robotics
The expansion of this type of procedure also depends on specialized training.
At Santa Casa de Porto Alegre, the Robotic Surgery Training Center was created in 2021 and had already trained more than 180 professionals by June 2023, according to the institution itself.
The preparation combines theoretical classes, supervised practice, and simulation.
Before performing real procedures, doctors train in controlled environments that replicate situations found in the surgical center.
Santa Casa also offers certification in robotic surgery with online modules, hands-on simulator training, and practice on a robotic platform.
The training is aimed at specialist doctors and residents seeking qualification in this area.
With more trained professionals, Brazilian hospitals have expanded the use of technology in different specialties.
Among the areas already using robotic platforms are urology, gynecology, general surgery, thoracic surgery, coloproctology, and digestive system procedures.
On-site team remains essential in tele-surgery
Tele-surgery does not eliminate the presence of a team at the hospital where the patient is admitted.
In the surgical center, doctors, anesthetists, nurses, and technicians remain responsible for monitoring the patient, preparing the equipment, following the procedure, and acting in case of complications.
The difference lies in the possibility of the specialist commanding the operation from another location, even thousands of kilometers away.
For medicine, this resource opens discussions about access to highly specialized professionals, hospital infrastructure, connectivity, and security protocols.
According to specialists, broader adoption depends on stable networks, trained teams, clear regulations, and monitoring of clinical outcomes.
The connection between Wuhan and Porto Alegre demonstrated the technical capability to reduce the physical distance between doctor and patient, but maintained the requirement for in-person structure and medical supervision throughout the procedure.
In Brazil, the operation placed Porto Alegre on a development path involving medicine, engineering, telecommunications, and professional training.
For the patient, the procedure took place inside a hospital in Rio Grande do Sul; for the medical team, the surgery also tested the integration between two centers separated by almost 19,000 kilometers.
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