A team of researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has conducted the city’s first robot-assisted pelvic fracture surgery in what promises to be a safer, less intrusive alternative to a procedure typically considered among the most challenging.

CUHK’s faculty of medicine said on Friday that the novel orthopaedic robotic surgical system could turn a “new page” in trauma care amid a rising number of pelvic fracture cases among the city’s rapidly ageing population.

Dr Ronald Wong Man-yeung, clinical associate professor in CUHK’s department of orthopaedics and traumatology, said the system provided a “safe, precise, and minimally invasive” means for pelvic fracture reduction.

Wong said this could prove especially meaningful for geriatric patients, who commonly suffered from multiple medical conditions that could make traditional surgical procedures more high-risk.

“Pelvic fracture surgery is one of the most challenging surgeries or operations in orthopaedic trauma,” he said, citing the high concentration of blood vessels and vital organs surrounding the pelvis.

“So minimising the surgical trauma via minimally invasive means would then significantly reduce complications, and this robotic system, from our early experience, has shown to be a safe and efficient treatment option for these higher-risk patients.”

Pelvic fractures are a serious injury that can be life-threatening, particularly for the elderly, and have become increasingly common in Hong Kong as the city grapples with a greying population.