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Rabat – For the first time in the history of Moroccan medicine, a surgeon successfully performed a robot-assisted telesurgery across more than 1,100 kilometers, connecting Casablanca to Laâyoune. The groundbreaking procedure marks a major step forward for telemedicine and surgical innovation in the country.
The operation, a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, was conducted by urologist and robotic surgery expert Dr. Adil Ouzzane, who piloted the surgical robot remotely from Casablanca.
The patient, a 52-year-old man, was treated at the International Polyclinic in Laâyoune. The surgery was completed safely and precisely, and the patient is now in stable condition and expected to be discharged soon.
The success of this long-distance operation was made possible by a combination of next-generation surgical robotics and high-speed, low-latency digital infrastructure, with a response time of just 20 milliseconds.
Engineers used two redundant connections, fiber optic and microwave, to ensure uninterrupted communication. Both medical facilities are part of the Akdital Group, which invested in the technology necessary to carry out this national first.
The local surgical team in Laâyoune played a key role in patient safety, with urologists Dr. Younes Tibari and Prof. Adil Mellouki on-site, supported by Dr. Khalid Azizi, who managed anesthesia, and a trained paramedical team led by Siham Bouhtouri.
“What matters most is that our patient is doing well today. I feel incredibly proud to have achieved this pioneering milestone in Morocco. Just a few years ago, it was unimaginable for a doctor in Casablanca to operate on a patient in Laâyoune, and today, that dream has become a tangible reality,” said Dr. Ouzzane, who also heads the Moroccan Society of Robotic Surgery (MSRS).
Medical experts have hailed the operation as a turning point in expanding access to advanced healthcare for patients in remote areas. It opens the door to new possibilities where geographic distance is no longer a barrier to high-quality medical intervention.
