In a historic milestone for global healthcare, Dr. Vipul Patel, a robotic surgery pioneer at AdventHealth’s Global Robotics Institute in Florida, remotely performed a prostatectomy on a patient in Angola — spanning nearly 7,000 miles. The procedure, conducted at Luanda’s Complexo Hospitalar Cardeal Dom Alexandre do Nascimento, marks the world’s longest-distance telesurgery ever completed.
The patient, 67-year-old Fernando da Silva, recovered well and was discharged within three days. Local hospital teams, including nurses and engineers, worked in real-time with Dr. Patel, showcasing the seamless fusion of technology and global collaboration.
“This was the first teleassisted surgery in Angola — and in Africa,” said hospital director Carlos Alberto Masseca. The breakthrough sets the stage for expanding access to specialized care across borders, signaling a bold future for remote robotic surgery.