How robots are allowing surgeons to safely perform common operations from up to 1,700 miles away

Surgeons can safely perform two common operations from distances of up to 1,700 miles, a new study has found.

New research delved into telesurgery, a cutting-edge technique that allows medical professionals to operate on patients remotely using a surgical robot connected via a secure video-link.

Academics in China initiated the study, highlighting that robust evidence on this method has previously been "scarce". Their primary aim was to ascertain whether telesurgery could achieve results comparable to, or "non-inferior" to, those from robotic-assisted surgery performed locally.

Some 72 patients were randomly assigned to be given telesurgery or local surgery, with the main measure of success the outcome of the surgery.

The researchers found telesurgery “was not inferior to local surgery in terms of the probability of surgical success”.

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Source: The Independent, 29 January 2026