Dr. G. Viswanathan Hospital successfully carried out two trans-continental tele-robotic surgical procedures in both gynaecology and general surgery, based in Belgium and Tiruchi recently.The two live tele-robotic surgeries were performed on June 4 as a collaboration between ORSI Academy, Ghent University and Dr. G. Viswanathan Hospital, Mambalasalai, Tiruchi, covering a distance of 9,730 kilometres between Belgium and India.The operating surgeon, Ramya Kalaiselvan, currently a consultant robotic surgeon in the United Kingdom, performed both procedures remotely using the MedBot Toumai Robot from Belgium.The patients remained at the Tiruchi while the robotic procedures were carried out remotely with the support of the on-site surgical team.The Tiruchi hospital had installed the MedBot Toumai, a four-arm robotic surgical platform designed to assist surgeons in performing complex procedures, in May.The network lag time during the surgeries ranged between 160 milliseconds and 217 milliseconds.At a press meeting in the city on Wednesday, K. Govindaraj, hospital chairman, said, “The first procedure, a tele-robotic gynaecological surgery, began at around 11 a.m. IST and was completed successfully in approximately one and a half hours. The second surgery, a tele-robotic left inguinal hernia TAPP repair, was also completed successfully within one and a half hours. This breakthrough demonstrates that geographical boundaries are no longer barriers in advanced surgical care.”The on-site surgical team in Tiruchi was led by Dr. Govindaraj and Dr. R. Muthuraman.Both patients had an uneventful post-operative recovery and were discharged on June 6. Published - June 10, 2026 08:52 pm IST