A surgeon in Italy has operated on a patient in Casablanca using a robotic surgery system, in a live procedure that connected the two cities over more than 2,000km. The operation took place on 9 September during the European Robotic Urology Section (ERUS 2026) congress. Dr Youness Ahallal, a urologist and director of the Robotic Surgery Programme at Oncorad Group, controlled the surgical robot from Padua, Italy.
A medical and surgical team at the Littoral Clinic Ain Diab in Casablanca stayed with the patient and managed the operation inside the operating theatre.
The connection between the surgeon and the robot had a response time of about 80 milliseconds. The procedure was broadcast live to around 1,250 specialists attending the congress.
The operation was a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, a procedure used to remove the prostate as part of prostate cancer treatment.
Oncorad Group said the patient is recovering well and has made good postoperative progress.
The procedure is part of Oncorad’s work in robotic surgery, remote medical training and surgical mentoring. The group has already carried out remote procedures between medical teams inside Morocco.
The latest operation connected a Moroccan operating room directly to an international medical congress. The group is developing the technology as a way to give patients access to specialist surgical expertise without requiring them to travel abroad.
Oncorad Group was founded in 2000 by Professor Redouane Samlali and Dr Omar El Hajji. The group started in oncology and later expanded into medical imaging, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, neonatal resuscitation and robotic surgery.
STOA and Cap Mezzanine 3 bought stakes in the group in 2023. The investment has supported its expansion and development of new medical services.
