Surgeon in Florida, Patient in Africa
Vipul Patel, the medical director of the Global Robotics Institute at Orlando’s Advent Health, recently performed a prostatectomy while sitting in Florida, on a cancer patient thousands of miles away in Africa.
According to ABC News, Da Silva, 67, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March. Three months later, Dr. Patel removed the cancerous part using transcontinental robotic telesurgery.
The information about this breakthrough surgery was shared on June 17 by Dr. Darien Sutton of ABC News.
Dr. Patel shared how prostate cancer is very prevalent in Africa. He added, “In the past, they really haven’t monitored it well, or they haven’t had treatments.”
Backups Were Ready Just in Case
Dr. Patel mentioned that his locally trained surgical team was physically present in the operating room with patient Da Silva, just in case something went wrong and they had to step in.
While performing the surgery remotely from Florida, he made sure they had Plans A, B, C, and D in place as safety measures.
This was done in case something went wrong with the technology or communication, the team could then safely take over the surgery.
The surgery went smoothly, and Da Silva recovered well without any complications.
How the Telesurgery Was Pulled Off
Dr. Vipul Patel, in conversation with ABC News, said the surgery was a long time coming. They had been working on it for over two years and had travelled the globe to find the right technologies to pull it off.
It was also mentioned that surgeons have used multi-million-dollar robots with enhanced visuals and nimble controls before, but they were always physically near the patient. This was the first time the surgeon was operating from a completely different location.
Dr. Patel said he used fiber optic cables to test the technology from a far-off location.
He said, “There was no perceptible delay in my brain.”
Da Silva was the first patient approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test this technology in a human clinical trial.
What This Means for the Future
A small step for a surgeon, but a huge leap for healthcare.Dr. Vipul Patel, MD, Global Robotic Institute at Orlando's Advent Health
He added that there are many underserved areas and rural communities around the world that could benefit from such technologies.
He also said that emergency room physicians could soon have access to technologies that allow remote support from surgeons, even in ambulances, if patients can’t reach the hospital in time.
He plans to submit all the data from this surgery to the FDA, hoping to gain approval for more telesurgeries in the future.
He said, “The humanitarian implications are enormous.”
Why It Matters
This surgery has opened the door for remote surgeries to become a reality, especially in places where access to skilled surgeons is limited. If the technology scales, it could completely change how critical care is delivered worldwide.
(Input From Various Sources)
(Rehash/Pooja Bansal/MSM)