Objective To investigate the effectiveness of 5G remote robotic surgery in the treatment of pelvic fractures. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 160 patients with pelvic fractures admitted between July 2023 and June 2024 who met the selection criteria. Among these patients, 80 underwent internal fixation surgery with the assistance of 5G remote robotic surgery (5G group), while 80 received local robotic surgical assistance (control group). Baseline characteristics, including gender, age, body mass index, disease duration, cause of injury, and fracture classification, were compared between the two groups, and no significant difference was found (P>0.05). The incision length, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, accuracy of screw placement, maximum residual displacement postoperatively, quality of fracture reduction, incidence of complications, Majeed pelvic function score and classification at last follow-up were recorded and compared between the two groups. Results In the 5G group, 180 screws were implanted during surgery, while 213 screws were implanted in the control group. The 5G group demonstrated significantly reduced intraoperative blood loss and shorter incision length compared to the control group (P<0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of operation time or hospital stay (P>0.05). Radiographic evaluation revealed excellent and good reduction rates of 98.8% (79/80) in the 5G group and 97.5% (78/80) in the control group, while excellent and good screw placement accuracy rates were 98.3% (177/180) in the 5G group and 95.8% (204/213) in the control group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in maximum residual displacement, reduction quality, or screw placement accuracy (P>0.05). All patients were followed up 7-16 months (mean, 11.3 months), with no significant difference in follow-up duration between the groups (P>0.05). No perioperative or follow-up complication, such as wound infection, iatrogenic fractures, iatrogenic neurovascular injury, screw loosening or breakage, or nonunion, were observed in either group. The control group exhibited a worse degree of gait alteration compared to the 5G group (P<0.05), while no significant difference was found in incidences of squatting limitation or persistent pain (P>0.05). At last follow-up, no significant difference was observed between the groups in Majeed pelvic function scores or grading (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with the local surgery group, 5G remote robotic surgery supported by remote expert technical guidance demonstrated smaller incision lengths, less intraoperative blood loss, and fewer postoperative complications, and was shown to be a precise, minimally invasive, safe, and reliable surgical method.
Objective To evaluate the safety and feasibility of remote robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery utilizing 5G technology. Methods Clinical data from five patients who underwent 5G remote robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery at the Thoracic Surgery Center of Gansu Provincial People's Hospital from May to October 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Finally, five patients were included. There were 2 males and 3 females at median age of 50 (42-63) years. All five surgeries (including 1 patient of lobectomy, 3 patients of partial lung resection and 1 patient of mediastinal lesion resection) were successfully completed without conversion to thoracotomy, complications, or mortality. The median intraoperative signal delay across the patients was 39 (37-42) ms. The median psychological load score for the surgeons was 9 (3-13). The median operation time was 100 (80-122) minutes with a median intraoperative blood loss of 100 (30-200) mL. Catheter drainage lasted a median of 4 (3-5) days, and the median drainage volumes on the first, second, and third postoperative day were 200 (100-300) mL, 150 (60-220) mL, and 80 (30-180) mL, respectively. The median postoperative hospital stay was 4 (3-7) days, and the median pain scores on the third postoperative day were 3 (1-4), 3 (0-3), and 1 (0-3), respectively. Conclusion 5G remote robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is safe and effective, with good surgical experience, smooth operation and small intraoperative delay.