Doctors in north China's Henan Province have successfully combined robotics with traditional surgery to treat a young man's broken leg.

In the 40-minute operation, a robot took X-rays of 26-year-old Yang Fengtao's broken leg, loaded the X-rays into a computer and then computed the most suitable surgical plan.

A doctor in a room adjacent to the operating room manipulated the robot through the computer programs.

He enabled the robot to massage and replace the patient's leg to its normal position and then insert steel rods into the broken bones to assist healing.

When the bones have mended, the rods will be taken out. The robot inventor, Wang Tianmiao, a professor with the Beijing Aerospace and Aviation University, said, "It is the first time China has combined western technology with traditional Chinese treatment. This is a perfect combination."

Experts say the traditional treatment is in a way superior to western surgery as it does not use a scalpel and causes less pain to the patient. However, it takes a longer time than surgery and is likely to be physically hard on the doctor.

The introduction of robots greatly shortens the operation, increases accuracy and frees doctors from harm of radiation. Doctor Yu Chuanren of the Henan Hospital said they now need only one doctor to conduct an operation which used to need three doctors.

( December 11, 2001)