Dr. Vipul Patel, IPCF founder, completes a historic remote telesurgery across 17,000 kilometers of fiber optic distance
photos courtesy of Society of Robotic Surgery
video courtesy of ABC News and Society of Robotic Surgery
below press release by: Ryan Julison
For the first time ever, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a groundbreaking Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) human clinical trial of a transcontinental robotic telesurgery that originated in the United States on a patient in Africa.
Dr. Vipul Patel, IPCF founder, executive director of the Society of Robotic Surgery and director of the Global Robotics Institute at Advent Health, performed the historic procedure, a robotic radical prostatectomy, from his operating room in Florida this past Saturday (June 14, 2025) on a patient more than 11,000 kilometers away in Angola. The goal of the robotic surgery was to remove a cancerous prostate minimally invasively in a patient who would otherwise not have access to advanced surgical treatments.
According to Patel, the humanitarian implications of remote surgical education and treatment to underserved and remote areas of the world could change the face of healthcare. "I believe this is a giant leap forward and has enormous humanitarian implications to improve healthcare and education to underserved areas around the world," said Patel. "This is the next step in surgical innovation and care."
Patel conducted the surgery from Orlando with his surgical team patient-side in Luanda, the Angolan capital.
The procedure went smoothly and the patient, who was diagnosed with Stage 1 prostate cancer in March of this year, was upbeat and on his feet hours after surgery.
ABC News was invited to document and cover this historic event. Watch the full primetime news coverage below.
Other ABC News coverage can be found at the links below as well.
ABC article
ABC podcast (Title of podcast is Trumps Iran Dilemma) Go to 19:00 this is where the story starts
Background:
For this procedure, Patel's surgical team utilized a direct fiber optic network that originated in Orlando, moved down through Miami and then on to Brazil before crossing over the Atlantic Ocean to Angola, a fiber optic distance of 17,000 kilometers.
This marks the first robotic telesurgery from the U.S. to an international location since 2001. That procedure, which was famously called the ‘Lindbergh Operation’ and involved the removal of a gallbladder, was performed by Dr. Jacques Marescaux via the French Embassy in New York City on a patient located in Strasbourg, France.
However, due to challenges with telecom speed, the viability of robotic technology and the immense cost at the time, it hasn't been reproduced since.
The advent of lower cost and more capable robotic surgical systems and the evolution of telecommunications (5G and fiber optic cable) has solved many of the bandwidth, latency and connectivity issues that previously precluded the performance of such a complex procedure at a long distance.
According to Patel, this first-of-its-kind FDA -approved IDE human clinical trial for U.S.-based transcontinental robotic telesurgery to Africa – the ability to teach surgeons and deliver patient care remotely – is a stunning breakthrough that medical professionals believe could be the first step in providing the ultimate in healthcare equity for those in remote, rural and underserved areas who currently lack access to advanced surgical education and high-quality healthcare.
Patel, who has performed nearly 20,000 prostatectomies using robotic technology and is widely recognized as the world's preeminent prostate cancer surgeon, noted that most of the world's population does not have access to experienced medical teams and believes robotic telesurgery has the potential to solve a massive, global healthcare problem.
In addition to overcoming geographical distances, robotic telesurgery can also bridge temporal gaps, allowing surgeons to respond swiftly to emergencies or time-sensitive procedures. In addition to the practical applications of robotic telesurgery, the humanitarian, social and medical benefits are potentially limitless.
Patel, who has been operating on patients for nearly 25 years, completed his medical school education at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his residency and fellowship training at the University of Miami. Subsequently, he served as director of the Robotic Surgery Program at The Ohio State University.
Patel also leads the Society of Robotic Surgery (SRS), the world’s largest multi-specialty robotic surgery society, whose membership includes more than 20,000 surgeons, specialists and medical professionals from around the world. SRS will highlight incredible advances in technology at its annual meeting to be held in Strasbourg, France July 16-20, 2025.