Dr. Vipul Patel described the groundbreaking surgery as “a small step for a surgeon, but it was a huge leap for health care.”
In a groundbreaking procedure, Dr. Vipul Patel, medical director of the Global Robotic Institute at Orlando’s Advent Health, performed the first transcontinental robotic prostatectomy on a cancer patient in Angola. The surgery, approved as part of an FDA clinical trial, removed 67-year-old Fernando da Silva’s prostate cancer using fiber optic cables to link Florida and Africa.
“There was no perceptible delay in my brain,” said Patel, noting the seamless control of the robot during the operation.
Da Silva was diagnosed in March and underwent surgery in June. A local surgical team was present in Angola as a backup. “We made sure we had plan A, B, C, and D. I always have my team where the patient is,” Patel added.
He called the operation “a small step for a surgeon, but it was a huge leap for health care,” emphasizing its potential to reach underserved areas globally and in rural America. Data from the procedure will be submitted to the FDA.