Nigeria’s first telesurgery: a robot in Abuja, a surgeon 500 km away 🤖🇳🇬

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Nigeria says it has taken a new step in digital health. Redeemer’s Health Village (RHV), RoboMed Global and Nisa Premier Hospital say they have carried out the first telerobotic surgery in West Africa. On Saturday, September 19, the team removed a cancerous tumor and the affected kidney of a patient in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

A robot at the controls, 500 km from the patient 🏥

The operation took place between two Nigerian locations. The patient was at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja, while the surgeon controlled the robotic system from Redeemer’s Health Village in Mowe, in Ogun State, next door to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. About 500 kilometers separate the two sites.

In practical terms, the technology lets a hospital tap specialist expertise without moving the patient. It also shows that surgeons can operate remotely even with several hundred kilometers between them and the operating room. The surgery lasted about three hours, with short pauses to check the equipment and the communication systems.

Telesurgery brings specialists closer to patients 🩺

Ibrahim Wada, CEO and founder of Nisa Premier Hospital, says the operation shows what Nigerian institutions can achieve when they work together. Professor Obi Ekwenna-Davis, who led the surgery, also weighed in. A specialist in urology and transplantation, he is a co-founder of RoboMed Global, a US-based robotic surgery company. In his view, the operation shows that remote surgery can be performed safely across multiple sites. Keep in mind that these are the project partners’ own assessments.

The effort comes as several African health systems turn to digital technology to cope with a shortage of specialists and to curb medical tourism, the practice of patients traveling abroad for treatment.

In South Africa, Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town reportedly became the first public hospital on the continent to offer robot-assisted surgery with the da Vinci system. But high costs reportedly still limit access, and such procedures remain concentrated in a handful of private hospitals across the continent. What Nigeria’s operation adds is distance: the surgeon no longer needs to be in the same place as the patient.

Training the next generation of surgeons 👨🏾‍⚕️

After this first operation, the next challenge is scale. RHV plans to launch a robotic surgery academy with RoboMed Global. According to Ekwenna-Davis, the goal is to train at least 150 surgeons within two years, along with nurses and biomedical engineers.

That training is meant to build the skills needed to run these technologies. Telesurgery also depends on several technical conditions: a reliable connection, dependable equipment and enough trained specialists.

RHV’s leadership stresses the need for networks that can withstand disruptions during procedures. It is also calling for public support for training.

Infrastructure and regulation: the real test 🌐

For Nigeria, the operation could mean robotic surgery is no longer just a technology demo. It could eventually connect specialists with patients in different regions of the country.

But several things will need to fall into place first. Infrastructure must be upgraded and regulatory safeguards strengthened. Funding and specialist training will also be decisive in making remote procedures a routine option.

Telerobotic surgery opens a new chapter for digital health in Nigeria. It separates the surgeon from the patient geographically, but it rests on three pillars: robotics, connectivity and specialized skills.

Could telerobotic surgery improve access to specialists in remote regions, in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa? Tell us what you think in the comments.