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LUANDA, June 19, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A cancer patient in Angola was recovering 
Thursday after undergoing the first robotic surgery on the continent 
conducted remotely by a surgeon in the United States, according to the 
hospitals involved.

The prostatectomy -- partial or complete removal of the prostate -- on June 
14 was also the first in the world to be done over such a distance, they 
said.

It was "successfully performed" by Vipul Patel, medical director at the 
Global Robotics Institute, part of AdventHealth hospital in Celebration, 
Florida.

"The procedure spanned nearly 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometres), making it the 
longest distance telesurgery ever completed," AdventHealth said in a 
statement on Wednesday. 

The Complexo Hospitalar Cardeal Dom Alexandre do Nascimento (CHDC) in 
Angola's capital Luanda said it was "the first teleassisted surgery performed 
in Angola and on the African continent".

A multidisciplinary team of surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, engineers and a 
member of Patel's team was present in the operating bloc, the CHDC said. 

The surgery "went well," the hospital's director, Carlos Alberto Masseca, 
told AFP. Three days after the procedure, the patient, Fernando da Silva, 67, 
went home to recover. 

Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men in sub-Saharan 
Africa, according to the Global Cancer Observatory.

Many countries on the continent, including Angola, have limited access to 
early detection and specialised surgical care.

The procedure is a "stunning breakthrough - not just technologically, but in 
advancing global health equity," said Patel.

"It marks a critical step toward delivering high-quality surgical care to 
remote, rural and underserved communities that have long lacked access. This 
is more than innovation -- it's a humanitarian leap forward."