# Balikesir University hospital: surgeons in Istanbul remotely remove kidney tumor with robot, kidney preserved

- Published: 2026-11-05 14:40 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: remote robotic surgery, kidney tumor removal, Balikesir University hospital, telesurgery Turkey, surgical robot latency, 50 ms delay, Istanbul surgeons, kidney-sparing surgery
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-06661cb384138bf26622f2aa_balikesir_university_hospital/

**A surgeon in Istanbul controlled the robot while the team in Balikesir followed on site. The hospital reports a delay of about 50 ms and calls it Turkey's first remote cancer surgery.**

![Balikesir University hospital: surgeons in Istanbul remotely remove kidney tumor with robot, kidney preserved](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/ea04b10437e742f2.jpg)
*turkey-breaking.com*

A surgical team in Istanbul remotely controlled a robot to remove a kidney tumor in a 34-year-old patient at Balikesir University hospital, according to turkey-breaking.com. The kidney was preserved [1]. The hospital head said this was the first use of remote surgery for a cancer patient in Turkey [1]. The material does not give the date of the operation.

## How the remote operation was organized

Before the operation, the internet connection, the infrastructure and the robotic system were tested repeatedly [1]. The surgical team controlled the robot from Istanbul, while the team in Balikesir followed the procedure in real time [1]. Prof. Sakir Ongun of the urology department at Balikesir University said the operation was done with remote surgery technology, with participation of Prof. Bulent Ulen of Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa [1].

Ongun said that success in this kind of surgery requires two experienced teams: one at the control center and one where the patient is, to deal with any fault or problem [1]. He added that the Balikesir team had the necessary experience and that the technological infrastructure of the city and the hospital was sufficient [1].

Hospital head Bahadir Caglar said the delay in carrying out surgical commands did not exceed about 50 milliseconds. For comparison, he noted that a blink of an eye lasts roughly 400 milliseconds. He said this level could be a world record, which is his own assessment [1]. According to Caglar, the aim of having two teams in different locations is to combine their expertise [1].

## Statements from the university

University rector Yucel Ugurlu received the medical team and thanked the participants [1]. He said the operation, for kidney cancer, belonged to category A surgeries and that its success shows that infrastructure shortcomings lasting for years had been overcome [1]. He also said the university had recruited more than 70 professors over the past three years [1].

Ugurlu announced that new departments and clinics would soon open at a joint ceremony. Two buildings of 64 beds each are due to be completed in November [1]. Caglar said the university intends to provide higher-quality and more specialized health services as it expands the use of modern technology [1]. The material does not report the patient's condition after the operation.

## Sources

1. [turkey-breaking.com](https://turkey-breaking.com/News/2026/11/05/أول-جراحة-روبوتية-عن-بُعد-لعلاج-السرطا)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-06661cb384138bf26622f2aa_balikesir_university_hospital/