Nigeria has recorded a major breakthrough in advanced healthcare after surgeons at Redeemer’s Health Village in Mowe, Ogun State, successfully performed a remote robotic operation on a patient located about 500 kilometres away in Abuja.
The procedure, described as Nigeria’s first tele-robotic surgery and the first of its kind in West Africa, was carried out in collaboration with RoboMed Global and Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja.
The operation involved a robot-assisted right radical nephrectomy, a procedure to remove a kidney affected by a cancerous tumour.
While the patient remained at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja, the surgeon controlled the robotic system from a console at Redeemer’s Health Village in Mowe, allowing the operation to be performed remotely in real time.
The surgeon who led the procedure, Professor Obi Ekwenna-Davis, said the successful operation demonstrated the potential of telesurgery to overcome geographical barriers and give patients access to specialist expertise without travelling long distances.
He said the patient was in good condition after the approximately three-hour procedure and was expected to be discharged within 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer of Redeemer’s Health Village, Dr Adedamola Dada, described the development as a significant step in the hospital’s efforts to make advanced medical care available within Nigeria.
Dada said the technology could eventually allow specialists in other parts of Nigeria and abroad to remotely participate in complex operations on patients in the country.
He added that the hospital had already carried out other robot-assisted procedures, including prostate cancer surgery and a robotic procedure on a 28-year-old patient with a complex urinary condition.
The introduction of remote robotic surgery in Nigeria is also expected to support efforts to reduce medical tourism by allowing patients to access specialised procedures locally rather than travelling abroad.
Dada said robotic surgery at the facility could cost significantly less than comparable procedures abroad. He cited a case in which a similar operation in the United States reportedly cost about $70,000 for the surgical intervention alone, while the same procedure at Redeemer’s Health Village costs about ₦20 million, including the surgical fee and other associated costs.
Robotic surgery allows surgeons to control specialised instruments capable of making precise movements through small incisions. According to Dada, the approach can reduce blood loss, postoperative pain and hospital stays in appropriately selected procedures.
The Federal Government has welcomed the development, with the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, describing the hospital’s robotic surgery programme as a significant step towards reversing Nigeria’s medical tourism trend.
Salako said the technology could improve access to advanced and minimally invasive surgical care while reducing the foreign exchange spent by Nigerians seeking specialised treatment abroad.
However, the medical professionals involved stressed that technology alone would not be enough to sustain the development. Training surgeons, nurses, biomedical engineers and other specialists will be necessary to expand the use of robotic surgery across the country.
Redeemer’s Health Village and its partners are therefore developing a Robotic Academy, which is expected to train about 150 medical and technical professionals within two years.
Dada said the hospital also plans to repeat the remote surgery between Lagos and Abuja in October as part of efforts to demonstrate that telesurgery can become a routine service rather than a one-off demonstration.
The development marks a new phase in Nigeria’s adoption of advanced medical technology, with remote robotic surgery offering the possibility of connecting patients in different parts of the country to specialist surgical expertise without requiring them to travel.
AbdulBasit Saba is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
