Remote work: Panama surgeon removes brain clot from patient 200 kilometres away
A surgeon in Panama has successfully removed a blood clot from a stroke patient's brain from more than 200 kilometres away, using a UAE-funded robotic system. Developers say the system proves that the technology can perform delicate procedures remotely. The patient was treated in Panama City by a doctor operating from Santiago in the country's Veraguas province and has fully recovered. The…
A neurosurgeon in Panama City successfully removed a blood clot from a stroke patient's brain using a robotic system operated from Santiago in the country's Veraguas province, more than 200 kilometres away. The patient recovered fully after the procedure, conducted in March but recently reported, in 2024. Developed by UAE-funded XCath, a Houston-based company, the Iris robotic system enables delicate procedures to be performed remotely.
XCath CEO Eduardo Fonseca stated that fewer than three percent of people globally have access to mechanical thrombectomy, a life-saving treatment for stroke, making the technology accessible to only 2.8 percent of humanity. The surgery involved navigating a small robot through a catheter to the blockage site within the patient's blood vessels, guided by live camera footage.
Dr Vitor Mendes Pereira, the neurosurgeon, emphasized that the patient's chances of survival would have been slim without the procedure, with every minute counting during the critical period following a stroke. The remote robotic surgery represents a significant step towards making life-saving treatments available in under-served areas, with further operations planned in 2027 involving remote locations.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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