Japanese university, surgeons' society perform remote robotic surgery

AOMORI, Japan - A Japanese university and the Japan Surgical Society said Wednesday that they have performed surgeries on five patients with bowel cancer using remote-controlled robots since August, aiming to address a shortage and geographic maldistribution of doctors.

The surgeries were successfully performed by doctors of Hirosaki University Hospital and Tsugaru General Hospital, both in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori.