Beijing medical event explores new frontiers in robotic urologic surgery

An influential medical industry event in Beijing on robotic urological surgery brought together experts in the field of urology from around the world.

With the theme "New Frontiers in Robotic Urologic Surgery in Asia and Europe", the Global Health Summit that featured the 2025 Great Wall Urology Forum, Asia and Europe Robotic Urologic Surgery Meeting, and the 2025 Minimally Invasive Surgery Annual Meeting was held at Beijing United Family Hospital on Saturday. The event hosted a range of academic exchange activities through two concurrent channels.

Among those in attendance were experts from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Germany and other countries and regions around the world. The event focused on the current status, innovations and challenges of robotic surgery in urology through two channels combining livestreamed presentations and offline lectures.

In Channel A, Declan Murphy from Australia and Masashi Takenaka from Japan delved into advanced surgical techniques like robotic prostatectomy and transvesical radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer using a da Vinci SP system; Professor Fan Yang introduced the "Bench PN plus Robot-Assisted Kidney Autotransplantation for Complex Renal Tumors", providing new solutions for complicated cases; and Kittinut Kijvikai from Thailand shared insights on robotic nephroureterctomy with bladder cuff excision, showcasing advanced surgical skills.

In Channel B, Liu Ming demonstrated Tele-Robotic prostatectomy, highlighting China's advancements in remote robotic surgery; Soodang Kim from South Korea and Shuji Isotani from Japan shared their views on SP partial cystectomy for urachal cancer and robotic partial nephrectomy with a retroperitoneal approach for recurrent renal tumors after cryoablation, respectively; while Ruben De Groote from Belgium introduced the Aalst technique for robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy with full nerve sparing, offering new directions for improving patients' postoperative quality of life.

According to Professor Zhu Gang, associate chief medical officer, chair of urology and chair of surgery at United Family Healthcare Beijing Market, with instruments only 8 millimeters in size and flexible joints, robotic surgery, as an extension of laparoscopic surgery, offers greater flexibility and significantly reduces bleeding. Its transfusion rate is 70 percent lower compared to open surgery and 42 percent lower compared to laparoscopic surgery.

Additionally, the incidence of perioperative complications is significantly reduced, which greatly lessens patient discomfort and speeds up recovery, particularly in procedures such as radical prostatectomy, Zhu said.

United Family Healthcare, as the first private medical institution to introduce the da Vinci robot, aims to provide better services to patients. Its extensive surgical experience and advanced surgical equipment offer patients a higher level of medical safety, Zhu noted.

The organizer of the event, United Family Healthcare is a key part of New Frontier Group. New Frontier Group is currently deeply involved in five key sectors: the tertiary clinical network, rehabilitation health, home health, insurance solutions, and clinical contract research organization. It aims to create a diversified service system, serving over 10 million people annually.

Xin Mengwei, the managing director and chief strategy officer at New Frontier Group, said that to address China's current aging trend and the rising incidence of tumors and cancers, New Frontier Group plans to establish cross-market comprehensive oncology centers as its most important development strategy for the next five to 10 years.

In the field of urological oncology, the three da Vinci surgical robots currently operating at Beijing and Shanghai United Family Hospitals provide strong equipment and technical support. In terms of integrated services, the hospitals offer case management and family doctor services to ensure comprehensive care for patients before, during, and after hospitalization.

United Family Healthcare focuses on the integrated development of medical services, education and research. It consistently hosts medical forums, conferences, lectures and other scientific activities enabling top medical experts nationwide and worldwide to exchange experiences. Professor Zhu believes that medicine requires continuous communication, exchange and learning. These activities enhance United Family Healthcare's own medical standards and help spread advanced Chinese experiences to the rest of the world.