Things to know about surgeon who led Nigeria’s first tele-robotic surgery

Samuel Omotere

Professor Obi Davies-Ekwenna, the Managing Director of Robo Medics and founder and Chief Executive Officer of RoboMed Global Inc., is a professor of urology and transplant surgery who has been involved in pioneering robotic surgical programmes in Nigeria and West Africa.

Davies-Ekwenna led the team that performed Nigeria’s first tele-robotic surgery, remotely operating on a patient in Abuja from Redeemer’s Health Village in Mowe, Ogun State.

The landmark procedure, announced on Saturday, involved a robot-assisted right radical nephrectomy to remove a kidney affected by a cancerous tumour.

Davies-Ekwenna performed the operation from a Toumai robotic surgical console at RHV, while the patient remained at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja.

The surgical robot at the Abuja hospital was connected to the robotic control system at RHV through an internet connection, allowing the surgeon to operate on the patient remotely.

The procedure was carried out in real time, with Davies-Ekwenna’s movements transmitted to the robotic system at the Abuja hospital.

Following the surgery, Davies-Ekwenna said the development demonstrated how tele-robotic technology could help overcome geographical barriers to specialist healthcare.

“We were able to operate on a patient in Abuja, 500 kilometres away. We were able to operate on a patient with a kidney tumour, a cancer tumour. And so that was successful,” he said.

He added that the technology could expand access to specialist expertise beyond the location of the surgeon.

“It means access to experts from within and outside the country. Telesurgery can be done from any part of the world with precision, with excellent results,” the robotic surgeon said.

In a video shared by Redeemer’s Health Village on its Instagram page on Sunday, Davies-Ekwenna was seen thanking members of the medical teams in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun State after the procedure was completed.

He was also cheered by members of the team at the hospital following the successful operation.

The video was captioned, “POV: You just completed The First Tele-Robotic Surgery in West Africa.”

He is a professor and robotic surgeon

Davies-Ekwenna is a Professor of Urology and Transplant Surgery and a robotic surgeon. He is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of RoboMed Global Inc. and the Managing Director of Robo Medics.

He is a professor at the University of Toledo

He is a Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Urology at the University of Toledo in Ohio, United States, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Urology Residency Programme.

Before becoming a professor, Davies-Ekwenna worked as an Assistant Professor of Urology and Transplantation and later as an Associate Professor.

He has been involved in robotic surgery programmes

Davies-Ekwenna has been involved in the development of robotic surgical programmes in Nigeria and West Africa, including the tele-robotic procedure that connected the medical team in Ogun State with a patient in Abuja.

He trained in urology and transplantation

His professional training includes an abdominal transplantation fellowship at the University of Miami, where he also completed his urology residency.

He obtained his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine after earning a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

He holds professional certifications

Davies-Ekwenna is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Diplomate of the American Board of Urology.

The surgery

The procedure was a collaboration between Redeemer’s Health Village, RoboMed Global and Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja.

Tele-robotic surgery, also known as remote surgery, allows a surgeon to operate on a patient from another location using robotic equipment and telecommunications technology.

In the Nigerian procedure, the patient was in Abuja while Davies-Ekwenna controlled the surgical robot from the RHV facility in Ogun State. Medical teams were present at both locations to support the procedure.

The operation marked a new stage in the country’s use of robotic surgery, following the development of RHV’s robotic surgery programme.

Davies-Ekwenna said the achievement was not only about completing one operation but also about developing the capacity to provide advanced surgical care to patients regardless of where they live.

He said the initiative could allow specialists in Nigeria and abroad to provide expertise to patients without requiring them to travel long distances or outside the country.

What next?

Following the successful operation, Davies-Ekwenna said continuous training would be important to sustain the technology.

He disclosed plans for a robotic academy that would train surgeons and other medical professionals, with a target of training at least 150 surgeons within two years.

The procedure brought together medical teams in Ogun and Abuja, with the robotic system enabling Davies-Ekwenna to perform the surgery remotely.

The successful operation could mark a significant development in the use of tele-robotic technology to expand access to specialist surgical care in Nigeria.

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