Robotic surgery performed remotely from the U.S. on a patient in Africa
Robotic prostatectomy surgery has been carried out from a distance from Florida on a patient in Angola as part of a clinical trial approved by the FDA.
“We will operate from the United States to Africa in a clinical trial approved by the FDA. We are going to carry out a robotic prostatectomy for a man in Angola who otherwise would not have access to high-end surgical care,” said Dr. VIP Patel, a global robotics institute in Advenhealth.
The robotic system is connected to several places in the world, notably Sao Paulo, Kuwait, Morocco, Shanghai and Angola, allowing the potential to provide medical care worldwide from a single place.
“Yes, people have already worked at a distance and the television is becoming more and more common, but it has never been done in this way, at this distance. Never from the United States to Africa and never where it was approved by a legal agency like the FDA,” said Dr. Vip Patel.
The procedure carried out at the Advenhealth Global Robotics Institute could have a significant impact on global health care by offering advanced surgical options to patients in poorly served regions that would otherwise have access to advanced medical care.
