17th April 2026 – (Shenzhen) A woman in Shenzhen has accused The University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital of mishandling her husband’s liver cancer treatment after a 2021 robot‑assisted operation failed to remove the tumour completely, forcing a second surgery 18 days later. The patient, identified as Mr Lei, underwent a five‑hour Da Vinci robot‑assisted wedge resection of liver segment S5 with cholecystectomy on 6th May 2021 and was discharged four days afterwards. He was readmitted on 18th May with fluid collections and subcutaneous oedema, and on 24th May underwent a revision procedure without robotic assistance. Despite further treatment over the following two years, he died on 27th December 2023 at Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, aged 67.
The hospital has rejected claims of malpractice, arguing the diagnosis and surgical technique were appropriate and that incomplete excision reflected disease complexity and current technical limits rather than error. However, a technical appraisal commissioned by the Shenzhen Health Commission and conducted by the Guangdong Medical Association on 3rd November 2025 concluded the case constituted a grade‑four medical accident, assigning primary responsibility to the hospital. Experts cited two major failures: not adequately mitigating positioning deviation during the Da Vinci procedure and omitting intraoperative frozen‑section pathology, which could have detected residual tumour, thereby precipitating the need for a second operation; and providing only minimal post‑operative advice despite pathology indicating a high risk of recurrence, with no clear recommendations for adjuvant therapy.
Mr Lei’s widow said the family sold their home and purchased costly imported medicines—reportedly up to 240,000 yuan per dose—in a bid to prolong his life, and she questioned the surgeon’s competency with the robotic system. Separate reporting by Hua Shang Daily alleged the same surgeon was found responsible for a grade‑one (A) medical accident in 2018 after removing five organs from an elderly patient who later died. Authorities say the current dispute remains under investigation.
The tumour was not completely removed during robotic surgery, forcing Mr Lei to undergo a second operation 18 days later.