Hospital da Luz once again became the stage for a major milestone in technological and surgical innovation today, 20 April, with the performance of the first remote surgeries in Portugal . In fact, these were the first remote partial nephrectomies performed with a single-port robot in Europe and the second in the world. Kris Maes , coordinator of the Robotic Surgery Centre at Hospital da Luz Lisboa, was the lead surgeon in this fully innovative - though still experimental - surgical procedures in Portugal and Europe. From Lisbon, he operated on the kidneys of two pigs from Lisbon that was in Shanghai, China, 10,000 kilometres away. The telesurgeries took place at the Simulation Center of Hospital da Luz Learning Health and, according to Kris Maes, “they were a success”. During each surgery, lasting about an hour and a half, in a direct connection without any disruptions to the Shurui Training Centre in Shanghai - the manufacturer of this new surgical robot - the surgeon performedtwo partial nephrectomies, removing tumors from the animals' kidneys, with no bleeding and no complications. The single-port robot used in these surgeries is from the Chinese brand Shurui and, according to the surgeon, has "snake-like arms, innovative and unique in the world." “We have taken a giant step forward in surgery in general and in robotic urological surgery,” he said, visibly pleased after completing the procedure. “And once again, Hospital da Luz is the first,” he added. “These are not only the first telesurgeries performed in Portugal. They are also the first robotic urology telesurgeries in Europe using a single-port system , meaning it is carried out through a single incision in the body of the patient,” the surgeon concluded. Kris Maes has been a robotic surgeon for 20 years and has worked at Hospital da Luz for over 15 years, where he pioneered the robotic surgery programme in Portugal. Hospital da Luz was thus the first to implement this surgical technology on a broad scale and has since consistently led change and innovation in this field.
