The Israelitisches Krankenhaus Hamburg (IKH) performed its first rectal resection with the single-portsurgical system Shurui made by Surgerii Robotics on 2 November 2026. The procedure was carried out through a single skin incision of around two to two and a half centimetres, through which a 3D camera and flexible instruments were inserted. The hospital regards the launch as an expansion of its range of robot-assisted procedures in visceral surgery.
According to the IKH, patients could benefit from less tissue trauma, potentially lower infection rates, less postoperative pain and smaller scars. The hospital also highlights advantages in the confined pelvic space, where multiple access points can be technically challenging. These assessments come from the hospital’s statement and have been picked up in initial regional reports. They do not support any robust conclusions about superiority over established procedures.
Shurui is a single-port system with flexible instruments that is currently used at only a few centres in Europe. In Germany, public communications name the München Klinik Bogenhausen alongside the IKH as an early-adopter centre, where procedures using the system have already been reported. Internationally, manufacturer statements and hospital announcements point to a small number of installations and published case reports. The system is not an industry-wide standard.
The evidence base is crucial to assessing the system: individual case reports and small series currently predominate. Comparisons with sufficient statistical power on complication rates, oncological outcomes, length of stay, quality of life and costs are largely unavailable or are just getting under way in registries and multicentre studies. Until robust data are available, it remains unclear for which indications a single-port system delivers measurable advantages over multi-port robots or conventional laparoscopy.
The usual legal and organisational requirements apply: before using new robotic platforms beyond pilot cases, hospitals review the applicable approved indications, local authorisation requirements, and their qualification and documentation obligations. According to the IKH, it plans to build up experience and systematically evaluate the results.
With the first procedure at the IKH, Hamburg has made a visible mark in robot-assisted visceral surgery. Ongoing case series, registry data and independent comparative studies will show whether this brings lasting clinical and health-economic benefits.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).