Dr. Liu Rong was performing the 5G remote surgery on a pig by controlling robotic surgical arms in Fujian, photo courtesy to Fuzhou Evening News.

China has successfully completed the world’s first remote surgery using 5G mobile network technology on a pig in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian Province, raising hopes that the new technology could one day benefit human patients.

The lobules of the pig’s liver were removed in a one-hour procedure by a doctor controlling robotic surgical arms with only 0.1 seconds latency over a 5G connection equipped by Huawei Technologies, the Fuzhou Evening News reported on January 11.

According to reports, the surgical wound was small with very little bleeding during the surgery, and the pig’s vital signs were stable as of press time.

Dr. Liu Rong was performing the 5G remote surgery on a pig by controlling robotic surgical arms in Fujian, photo courtesy to Fuzhou Evening News.

Dr. Liu Rong, the chief surgeon who performed the surgery at the Fujian branch of telecommunication operator China Unicom, was located some 50 km away from the pig, which was located at Fujian Medical University.

“5G technology enables remote surgery to be conducted in disaster areas and at distant border areas, and allows doctors at well-equipped hospitals to help colleagues at smaller hospitals,” Liu said.

The speed of the technology reduces latency by 20 times compared to 4G. Moreover, the world’s first successful surgery could be expected of large-scale application in medical and surgical scenarios, researchers said. 

Dr. Liu Rong was performing the 5G remote surgery on a pig by controlling robotic surgical arms in Fujian, photo courtesy to Fuzhou Evening News.