Academician Zhao Yupei (center) and his medical team conduct a multidisciplinary consultation.
On 1 April 2026, Zhao Yupei, Honorary President of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with his medical team, successfully performed a spleen-preserving pancreatic tumor resection and cholecystectomy on a patient with insulinoma and gallstones in Macao. This surgery, as the first in the city to utilize the fourth-generation da Vinci multi-port robotic system, marks a crucial application of the Macao-Beijing medical collaboration mechanism, and Macao residents can benefit from the high-precision technology led by academicians.
As insulinoma is a rare pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, and given the patient’s pre-existing inflammatory gallstones, PUMCH and the Macao Union Medical Center formed a multidisciplinary team to address this case. Through remote consultations, they devised a plan to provide “comprehensive treatment in a single surgery.” After arriving in Macao, Academician Zhao personally communicated with the patient and their family about the surgical plan, risk management and prognosis to alleviate their concerns.
During the surgery, Zhao’s team found that in the patient’s unique pancreatic structure, the tail of the pancreas was embedded in the splenic hilum and surrounded by abundant blood vessels, posing considerable challenges in spleen preservation. After evaluating the surgical complexity and safety, the team retained the spleen-preserving approach. Meticulously dissecting over 20 splenic arteries and veins within a confined anatomical space, they successfully removed the tumor while preserving the spleen intact. At the same time, they conducted the gallbladder removal. The entire surgical procedure spanned 4 hours. On the day following the surgery, the patient was able to get out of bed and move around, showing good signs of recovery.
The surgical equipment and operating room layout were completely aligned with those of PUMCH. Also, to facilitate the surgery, the Health Bureau and Conde de São Januário General Hospital worked together proactively to offer the team expedited services for license processing. This surgery not only showcases the exceptional minimally invasive technology and standardized perioperative management but also signifies the official launch of the guest expert collaboration mechanism of the Macao Union Medical Center, setting a milestone for the advancement of healthcare in Macao.
In the future, the Macao Union Medical Center will further strengthen its collaboration with PUMCH to perform more advanced and intricate surgeries and introduce more cutting-edge medical technologies, so as to enhance the quality of medical services in Macao and bolster healthcare support for Macao residents.
