Surgeon Performs Robotic Prostatectomy From 35 Miles Away

A 66-year-old man with prostate cancer underwent robotic prostate-removal surgery on October 25 while surgeon Vipul Patel operated from a hospital about 35 miles away, AdventHealth said. The procedure linked AdventHealth Minneola, where the patient was, with AdventHealth Celebration, where Patel controlled the robotic instruments. An onsite surgical team was also present with the patient. The operation was conducted as part of a clinical research study under an Investigational Device Exemption authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The exemption permits the device to be investigated in a study; it is not FDA approval or clearance for this use. AdventHealth described the case as the first robotic telesurgery performed between two U.S. hospitals. The study is evaluating surgical outcomes, safety and effectiveness, along with technical performance such as network reliability, alarms and contingency procedures. AdventHealth said trained staff, backup systems and plans for transferring control to the local team were in place at Minneola. The health system also identified equipment or connectivity failure and cybersecurity threats among the risks under consideration....