China’s “Smart” First Laparoscopic Surgery Robot Achieves Another New Milestone with the Mission to “Make Surgeries Easier for the World!”
On November 16th, TuMai® Robotics, under the Minimally Invasive® Robotics Group, successfully completed a nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer at MMT Hospital in Georgia. The surgery was performed by Prof. Karazanashvili, a renowned urological expert and winner of Georgia’s highest award, leading the surgical team. After the surgery, MMT Hospital announced that this was the hospital’s 100th commercial robotic surgery. With the assistance of TuMai® Robotics, the time for this complex prostate cancer surgery was reduced to just 1 hour and 45 minutes, reaching a world-class standard.
MMT Hospital has completed its first 100 commercial robotic surgeries in its history, marking the first such achievement in the entire Caucasus region (including Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and southern Russia). Prof. Karazanashvili commented on this milestone achievement, stating that the introduction of TuMai® Robotics for clinical surgeries has ushered in an era of super-precise minimally invasive surgery at the hospital, transforming robotic surgery in Georgia and the Caucasus region from non-existent to world-leading, bringing better medical experiences and treatment outcomes to patients.
Robotic surgery is currently the most advanced technology in the international surgical field. In today’s rapidly advancing technological era, patients need to receive high-quality medical services provided by the most advanced medical equipment and technology.
With the assistance of TuMai® Robotics, the surgeon observes the surgical area in a 3D stereoscopic view. The imaging is clear, and the depth perception is excellent, making it easier for the surgeon to judge the spatial relationships and distances within the surgical area. The 10x magnification effect reveals tissue layers, small blood vessels, and fine details, helping the surgeon completely remove the tumor while protecting surrounding tissues, organs, blood vessels, and nerves. Additionally, using robotic arms, the surgeon can control various surgical instruments that simulate wrist-like flexibility, allowing for 540° of free rotation. This enables highly complex tasks such as grasping, cutting, hemostasis, suturing, and reconstruction in confined spaces, while eliminating hand tremors and surpassing human hand limits, leading surgery into a more precise, safer, and accurate new era.
Previously, MMT Hospital mainly used open or laparoscopic surgeries for treatment. After introducing TuMai® Robotics, all eligible patients with surgical indications have been switched to robotic surgery. To date, 100% of these surgeries have been successful, and the benefits to patients are clear. According to the hospital’s statistics, the 100 commercial clinical surgeries cover classic and difficult procedures across multiple departments, including urology, general surgery, and gynecology. These include radical prostatectomy, radical cystectomy, radical nephrectomy, pyeloureteral anastomosis, ureteral bladder reimplantation, bladder-vaginal fistula repair, and low anterior resection for rectal cancer.
Some of the 100 surgeries involved patients with severe conditions and complex pathologies. Nearly 60% of prostate cancer cases were locally advanced, with some patients having a BMI of up to 44.1 and prostate sizes reaching 160cc. A few cases were metastatic prostate cancer (with PSA levels as high as 84 ng/ml). Many patients had previously undergone transurethral prostate resection (TURP) or high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatments. In one radical nephrectomy case, the tumor size was as large as 9 cm. “Many of these were very large surgeries that were previously difficult to complete, but with the introduction of TuMai® Robotics, these surgeries have become relatively simpler,” said Prof. Karazanashvili, noting that robotic surgery has significantly reduced post-operative recovery time and greatly improved patients’ quality of life.
“Before, we had no experience with robotic surgeries, but with our rich experience in open and laparoscopic surgeries, and after receiving professional training from Minimally Invasive® Robotics engineers and onsite support during the initial phase, we successfully tackled these high-difficulty surgeries,” said Prof. Karazanashvili after completing the 100th robotic surgery. “Using TuMai® to perform surgery feels like installing ‘mini-hands’ and ‘microscopic eyes’ inside the patient’s body. This experience is unparalleled. Once doctors have used TuMai®, they will never return to open or laparoscopic surgeries.”
As a pioneer, Georgia has been the first to introduce TuMai® Robotics in the Caucasus region and complete 100 multi-specialty clinical surgeries, accumulating valuable experience and advancing the country’s robotic surgery standards to a world-leading level. This will significantly boost the development of robotic surgery in the region.
In the past, Georgian patients had to travel to neighboring countries or even to Europe to seek treatment in countries with more advanced medical technologies, greatly increasing medical costs. Prof. Karazanashvili added, “Thanks to TuMai® Robotics, patients in the Caucasus region now have the opportunity to receive the gold-standard robot-assisted surgery treatment locally, within a familiar cultural environment, enjoying more precise, effective, and safer medical services.”
With the future scaling of surgeries, Georgia is poised to become the region’s robotic surgery center and leader. MMT Hospital has announced plans to strengthen cooperation with medical institutions in neighboring countries, allowing more hospitals and doctors in the Caucasus region to understand and use TuMai® Robotics, promoting the exchange of advanced medical technologies and medical cooperation in the region, and making cutting-edge medical technology accessible to a broader patient base.
Dr. He Chao, President of Minimally Invasive® Robotics Group, remarked, “Georgia’s MMT Hospital is the first hospital where we installed our robots overseas. It is the only robotic surgery center in the Caucasus region and has now become the first to complete 100 robotic surgeries. We are most proud to have grown alongside Prof. Karazanashvili and his surgical team, as their prostate cancer surgeries have now been reduced to 1 hour and 45 minutes, which is the level of a world-class expert. I believe this miracle will be replicated in more countries and regions.”
