Special Interview with Prof. Vipul Patel: The Future of Robotic Telesurgery
On November 4, 2026, the Editorial Office of Mini-invasive Surgery (MIS) had the pleasure of interviewing Prof. Vipul Patel, Founder and Medical Director of AdventHealth's Global Robotics Institute, following his pioneering achievements in robotic telesurgery.
In this interview, Prof. Patel shared his insights into the clinical translation of robotic telesurgery, the importance of safety, ethics, and informed consent, its potential to expand access to specialized surgical care, and the future directions of this rapidly evolving field.
Watch the full interview with Prof. Vipul Patel:
Interview Questions:
Q1. From Pioneering Demonstrations to Clinical Practice: What are the key steps needed to translate successful robotic telesurgery demonstrations into safe, standardised, and widely adopted clinical practice?
Q2. Safety, Ethics, and Informed Consent: Drawing on your work on surgical consent and ethical frameworks, what principles should underpin the responsible development and implementation of robotic telesurgery?
Q3. Expanding Access to Surgical Care: Based on your experience with transcontinental telesurgery and international collaborations, what are the greatest opportunities and most significant challenges in bringing this technology to underserved and resource-limited settings?
Q4. The Next 5–10 Years: What developments do you believe will have the greatest impact on the future of robotic telesurgery over the next five to ten years?
Q5. A Message to the Field: What key considerations should surgeons and healthcare systems prioritise when evaluating the adoption of robotic telesurgery?
About Prof. Vipul Patel:
Prof. Vipul Patel, MD, FACS, is a board-certified urologist and Founder and Medical Director of the Global Robotics Institute at AdventHealth, Florida, USA. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to robotic and minimally invasive urologic surgery, having performed more than 18,000 robotic prostatectomies. His work focuses on robotic-assisted surgery for urologic cancers, surgical innovation, and robotic telesurgery.
Prof. Patel has been at the forefront of robotic telesurgery, including pioneering transcontinental telesurgery between the United States and Angola in 2025 and the first documented robotic telesurgery between two US hospitals in October 2026. He is also a founder of the International Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Society of Robotic Surgery, and Founding Editor and Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Robotic Surgery. He has authored or co-authored numerous medical textbooks and published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his urology residency and fellowship at the University of Miami.
Editor: Ivy Wang
Production Editor: Xingyue Luo
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Mini-invasive Surgery
