Hangzhou, China, December 15, 2020 — The Toumai™ Endoscopic Surgery Robotic System (Toumai™), a proprietary product of Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (MicroPort® MedBot), completed the first robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) procedure at the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital. This first RAPN surgery marked a new step forward in its clinical research, as it follows the first robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) procedure performed by Toumai™, which was completed in November 2019.
On December 10, 2020 Prof. Dahong Zhang, Vice President and the clinical lead for urology at the Hospital, performed a partial nephrectomy with zero ischemia for a 59-year-old female with solitary kidney tumor using the Toumai™ and successfully preserved the normal kidney tissue and functions that are essential for the patient with a solitary kidney.
Prof. Zhang evaluated the performance of Toumai™ after the surgery, stating, “The advantages of the Toumai™ is that it enables doctors to complete tumor removal and renal suturing more quickly and efficiently during RAPN surgeries. With 18 minutes of thermal ischemia duration and less than 10ml of bleeding, the operation showed that the Toumai™ is fully comparable to its overseas competitors in terms of smooth running and duration of the operation,” said Prof. Zhang.
In the field of urological surgery, nephrectomy has gone through the development stages of open partial nephrectomy (OPN), laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) and robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). Among these, LPN and RAPN are widely used today due to smaller wound areas, less trauma to patients and comparable oncological results as open surgeries. Compared with LPN, RAPN greatly shortens the operation time and better protects patients’ nerves and blood vessels. This is due to the stable operation of the robotic arm and high dexterity of the robotic wrist within a narrow space. Hence, patients can recover quicker, resulting in a generally more robust result.
The Toumai™ is well suited for a wide spectrum of urological applications, particularly a range of reconstructive procedures including partial nephrectomy. Previously, Toumai™ has successfully completed numerous robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and robotic-assisted radical nephrectomy (RARN) procedures at the East Hospital Affiliated to the School of Medicine, Tongji University (Shanghai), the First Affiliated Hospital of PLA Naval Military Medical University (Shanghai Changhai Hospital), among others, which have effectively validated its technological sophistication, safety, efficacy, and high clinical advantages. Currently, steady progress is being made in conducting clinical trials and commercialization of the Toumai™.
Dr. Chao He, President of MicroPort® MedBot, said, “The Toumai™, currently under clinical trials at several clinical centers, has received unanimous positive recognition from surgeons participating in the studies. We look forward to Toumai™ assisting surgeons in more challenging surgical operations of minimal invasion, precision, safety, and efficiency, so as to reshape the lives of more patients or improve their quality of life.”
About Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
MicroPort® MedBot is a Shanghai MicroPort Medical (Group) Co., Ltd. (MicroPort®) subsidiary.
MicroPort® started strategizing its engagement in the medical robotics field as early as 2014 when it initiated the independent research and development of endoscopic robots. For years, MicroPort® MedBot has been focusing on the development and commercialization of minimally invasive surgical robots and has gradually developed and improved a multi-department integrated solution represented by the five “golden paths” – laparoscopy, orthopedics, vascular intervention, natural orifice surgery, and percutaneous puncture.