The Da Vinci surgical robot operates during a surgery at Wuxi People's Hospital. [Photo/wxrb.com]

Wuxi People's Hospital has used a Da Vinci surgical robot in three surgeries recently, the first time this has been done in the city.

The Da Vinci system is an advanced robotic system designed to facilitate complex surgeries using a minimally invasive approach that is controlled by a surgeon from a console. Such systems are commonly used for prostatectomies and increasingly for cardiac valve repair and gynecologic surgical procedures.

More than 40,000 surgeries have been carried out in China using a robotic surgical system since it was first introduced in the country in 2006.

Wang Tong, director of the hospital's endoscopic surgery department, performs the Da Vinci surgical robot operates during a surgery. [Photo/wxrb.com]

A 45-year-old male patient who suffered from three hemangiomas in the left lobe of his liver was operated on using the Da Vinci robot. In a traditional surgery, a 10-cm-long incision would have to be made, but the da Vinci surgical robot made only four 7-mm holes in the abdomen. The operation took one hour, and the man was confined to a bed for the next four days.

The operation was performed by Wang Tong, director of the hospital's endoscopic surgery department. Wang said using the surgical robot feels just like driving a car.