A new chapter in specialist healthcare has opened in Imo State as surgeons at the Imo State Robotic and Oncology Centre in Owerri successfully completed the first robotic-assisted precision surgery in the South-East.
The procedure, performed on Friday on a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer, was led by Professor Kingsley Ekwueme, a United Kingdom-based Consultant Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgeon. Specialists from the United Kingdom, United States and Belgium were part of the team.
Beyond marking a regional first, the operation demonstrates the growing capacity to deliver highly specialised medical procedures within Nigeria rather than requiring patients to travel outside the country for treatment.
Ekwueme said the operation was completed without blood loss, nerve damage or the kind of extensive cutting associated with conventional open surgery. He attributed the precision to the capabilities of the robotic system installed at the centre.
The robot uses artificial intelligence and can magnify tissues up to 10 times. That level of magnification, he explained, enables the surgeon to distinguish very small structures and remove the tissue requiring treatment while avoiding surrounding organs and nerves.
“If you see a tiny grain of sand, it will be like you are seeing a rock,” Ekwueme said, explaining how the magnification improves visibility during an operation.
The system is also designed with multiple safety checks intended to prevent errors by both the machine and the surgeon.
From Lagos to Owerri
Ekwueme said the development of robotic surgery in West Africa began several years ago, with an earlier facility developed in Lagos. The initiative later expanded to Imo after Governor Hope Uzodimma invited him to partner with the state in establishing a robotic surgery centre.
He said the governor's objective was to transform healthcare delivery in Imo through investment in modern technology and specialist services.
An Oncology and Treatment Centre is being developed next to the robotic facility, with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment intended to support the treatment of all forms of cancer. Ekwueme described the combination of advanced robotic surgery and oncology services within the same location as a distinctive model.
Ekwueme said the man operated on for prostate cancer would not need to leave Imo or Nigeria to undergo the procedure. He also said the preservation of the patient's nerves and urinary function could allow him to retain sexual function and normal control of his urine.
The surgeon said the patient was expected to wake up after the operation, eat pounded yam and ofe Owerri, and return home the following day.
For Ekwueme, bringing the technology back to Nigeria has a significance beyond medicine.
“I feel emotional because, you can do this anywhere in the world but to come back and do it for your people, it’s what I don’t take for granted,” he said.
Why the technology matters
One of the defining advantages of the robotic system is its range of movement.
Ekwueme said the robot has seven degrees of freedom, similar to the movement of a human hand, but with a level of control that conventional open surgery cannot provide. It can rotate through 360 degrees, while the surgeon's movements during open surgery remain constrained by the physical limitations of the human hand.
The robot can also remember the exact point where one surgical instrument stops and ensure that the next instrument reaches the same position.
Another feature is an in-built simulation system that can be used to assess surgeons. According to Ekwueme, a surgeon can undertake a simulated task and later receive an assessment of how the procedure was performed.
He stressed that robotic surgery should not be treated as a single category because different systems have different capabilities.
Ekwueme identified the da Vinci Robot as the gold standard in robotic surgery, stating that more than three million systems have been installed worldwide and more than 20 million surgeries have been performed using the technology.
He said the United Kingdom has moved so far toward robotic procedures that open surgery is no longer taught to graduating surgeons in the way it was previously.
The advanced da Vinci system installed in Imo also incorporates artificial intelligence and several safety mechanisms, which Ekwueme said further strengthen the precision and reliability of the procedures.
A healthcare investment with a wider goal
Governor Hope Uzodimma said the project forms part of his administration's deliberate investment in modern healthcare infrastructure, specialist services and medical technology.
The state government's partnership with the centre is also intended to expose Nigerian medical personnel in Imo to advanced surgical techniques, creating an opportunity for knowledge transfer alongside the introduction of new equipment.
Uzodimma said another major objective is to reduce the financial and emotional burden faced by residents who previously had to seek specialised treatment outside the state.
The Imo State Health Insurance Scheme is also being used to expand access to quality healthcare, with the government seeking to ensure that residents can obtain treatment without being overwhelmed by medical costs.
The governor commended Professor Ekwueme, the management and staff of the Imo Robotic and Oncology Centre for the successful procedure.
The achievement gives Imo a new position on Nigeria's specialist healthcare map. With robotic surgery, advanced cancer diagnostics and treatment being developed within the same healthcare environment, Owerri is emerging as a centre where technology that once required international travel can increasingly be accessed at home.
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