# A surgeon operated a robot 30 km from the patient: Belarus reports its first remote operation

- URL: https://syn.by/en/technology/a-surgeon-operated-a-robot-30-km-from-the-patient-belarus-reports-its-first-remote-operation/
- Published: 2026-10-21T09:00:10+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-21T16:35:16+00:00
- Section: Technology
- Language: en
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/tekhnologii/khirurg-upravlyal-robotom-za-30-km-ot-patsiyenta-v-byelarusi-soobshchili-o-pyervoy-distantsionnoy-opyeratsii.md
- BE edition: https://syn.by/tekhnalogii/chirurh-kiravau-robatam-za-30-km-ad-pacyjenta-u-bielarusi-paviedamili-pra-piershuju-dystancyjnuju-apieracyju.md

> A robotic prostatectomy on a 60-year-old patient was performed by specialists of the Minsk Scientific and Practical Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology and the Minsk Regional Clinical Hospital. The center announced the operation on 19 October.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/illustration-685-1024x585.webp)

For the first time in Belarus, a remote robotic operation has been carried out: a 60-year-old man with prostate cancer underwent a robotic prostatectomy while the operating surgeon was 30 kilometers from the operating room. The Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology itself announced on 19 October that the first operation of this kind in the country had taken place. Below are five points that make up this story: how the operation was arranged, who took part in it, what is known about the outcome, what base made it possible, and what the medical institutions themselves say about its prospects.

First, the layout of the operation. The surgical team worked in an operating room of the Minsk Regional Clinical Hospital and controlled the robot from there. The patient, meanwhile, lay on the operating table at the Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology. According to Belarusian state media, the distance between the two institutions is about 30 kilometers.

Non-state Belarusian outlets specify that the surgeon Aliaksandr Brezovsky controlled the instruments from the hospital in Borovliany, while a medical team was next to the patient in Minsk.

Second, the make-up of the team. According to private Belarusian outlets working in the country, the operation was performed by Aliaksandr Brezovsky, head of the department of transplant and minimally invasive urology. He was assisted by the urologist Siarhei Liubetsky. The team also included Yahor Borovik, deputy chief physician of the regional hospital, and Pavel Milashevsky, head of the urology department.

The work was joint: specialists from two institutions took part, the republican center and the regional hospital. The patient remained in the operating room of the Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology throughout.

Third, what exactly was done. The operation was performed with the help of a surgical robot. According to Belarusian state media, the surgeons remotely removed a cancerous growth of the prostate in a patient with localized cancer. Private Belarusian outlets working in the country report that the tumor was removed radically and with minimal trauma. This assessment comes from the doctors and institutions; the materials contain no independent data on the patient's condition.

The general context for the use of such systems is described as follows: robots are most often used in urology and abdominal surgery. There they allow operating more precisely and more safely, where in open surgery it is difficult to reach the necessary organs.

Fourth, the base that made this possible. In February 2026 the Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology performed its first operation on a robotic system made by the Chinese company Shanghai MicroPort Medbot; according to state media, this is the first such installation in the country. By June 2026 the Minsk Regional Clinical Hospital had already carried out 34 procedures on the new system. To work with the equipment, six doctors and two nurses of this hospital were trained in China.

Fifth, promises for the future. According to Belarusian state media, such technologies will make it possible to provide high-tech care to patients who live far from large medical centers. For now this is a statement, not practice: the materials give no timeframe, scale or rules for the use of remote operations. It is not yet known which regulations govern surgical interventions at a distance.