Panama conducts first bidirectional robotic remote surgery

In a groundbreaking medical achievement, Panama's Social Security Fund (CSS) has conducted the region's first bidirectional robotic remote surgery. This innovative procedure enabled a surgeon located in the Chiriquí province to operate on a patient situated in the Ciudad de la Salud in Panama City.

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We are working this week on the robotic surgery program in Chiriquí. We did the surgery from there to Panama, where one of our surgeons was in that province.

The surgery involved Dr. Guillermo Bailey, a general surgeon at the Dr. Rafael Hernández Specialized Hospital in Chiriquí, utilizing a robotic surgery platform console. The patient, under anesthesia in Panama City, underwent a cholecystectomy to remove her gallbladder due to gallstones. After the robotic system was set up on the patient, Dr. Bailey remotely controlled the robot's movements from Chiriquí.

Dr. Marcos Young, the CSS's national executive director of Health Benefits, highlighted this as a significant step in the institution's expansion of its telemedicine and robotic surgery programs. He explained that the procedure, referred to as "two-way" or bidirectional, marks a first for the region, where a surgeon in Chiriquí operated on a patient in the capital, and subsequently, a specialist in the capital performed a procedure on a patient in Chiriquí.

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We call it bidirectional or 'two way.' This is the first time this type of procedure has been performed in the region.

Beyond overcoming geographical barriers, Dr. Young emphasized the platform's potential for medical training and education. It allows specialists and residents to gain experience with new surgical technologies. Dr. Bailey described the experience as a major technological advancement for Panama's health system, demonstrating the capability of remote robotic surgery to connect medical teams across different parts of the country and extend specialized surgical procedures to patients regardless of their location.

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This technology allows us, from great distances, to perform surgical procedures for the benefit of patients.