In a groundbreaking medical feat, a Florida-based surgeon has successfully performed a remote robotic surgery on a cancer patient located thousands of miles away in Angola, Africa — marking a historic moment in global healthcare innovation.
Dr. Vipul Patel, Medical Director of the Global Robotic Institute at Advent Health in Orlando, USA, conducted a prostatectomy on 67-year-old Fernando da Silva, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in March. The high-precision surgery, performed in June, involved the removal of cancerous tissue from Da Silva’s prostate.
“This surgery has been a long time coming,” Dr. Patel revealed in an interview with ABC News, noting that he and his team have spent over two years preparing for this milestone. “We travelled the globe, looking at the right technologies.”
The procedure marks the first successful transcontinental robotic telesurgery as part of a human clinical trial approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While robotic-assisted surgeries are not new, they have typically required the surgeon to be physically present. In this case, Patel operated from the United States while Da Silva remained in an operating room in Angola—supported by an on-ground surgical team.
Using fibre optic technology to control the multimillion-dollar surgical robot, Patel reported no perceptible delay during the procedure. “There was no perceptible delay in my brain,” he said. To ensure safety, his surgical team was fully prepared to intervene on-site if necessary. “We made sure we had plan A, B, C, and D. I always have my team where the patient is,” he stated.
Dr. Patel emphasized the profound implications of this success. “It’s a small step for a surgeon, but a huge leap for health care,” he remarked. He highlighted that prostate cancer is prevalent across Africa and that this kind of innovation could revolutionize access to treatment in underserved regions.
“The humanitarian implications are enormous,” Patel added. “Internationally, there are so many underserved areas of the world. Even in rural communities in the U.S., this technology can bring specialized care closer to patients.”
He further suggested that the technology could extend beyond surgery. “Emergency room physicians will have technology that can be remotely accessible to surgeons, maybe even in the ambulance,” he said, envisioning a future where critical interventions can happen remotely, even before patients reach a hospital.
Patel intends to submit the data gathered during this operation to the FDA in pursuit of expanded telesurgery trials. If approved, this could pave the way for broader deployment of remote surgical care across continents.
