Nigerian pastor shares experience after becoming first robotic surgery patient in Ogun

• Pastor Alexander Idachama became the first patient to undergo robotic-assisted surgery at Redeemer's Health Village Hospital in Ogun State.

• He said the operation saved him the cost of travelling abroad and that he was discharged in less than 24 hours.

• The surgery was carried out by Prof. Obi Ekwenna-Davis, Dr Ifeanyi and other members of the medical team using robotic technology.

• The development comes after the hospital also announced West Africa's first 500km telerobotic surgery between Ogun State and Abuja.

For many Nigerians battling serious health conditions, the first thought is often how to raise money to travel abroad for treatment. But that may slowly be changing.

Pastor Alexander Idachama has become the first patient to successfully undergo robotic-assisted surgery at Redeemer's Health Village Hospital in Redemption City, Ogun State.

The procedure, known as a radical prostatectomy, was carried out with the help of surgical robotics by a team led by Prof. Obi Ekwenna-Davis, co-founder of US-based RoboMed Global Inc., alongside Nigerian doctors, including Dr Ifeanyi.

The surgery marks another major step for the hospital, which recently announced what it described as West Africa's first 500-kilometre telerobotic surgery. During that operation, surgeons in Ogun remotely performed surgery on a patient with a kidney tumour in Abuja using robotic technology.

READ ALSO: Woman dies following wrong injection days after recovering from surgery and set for discharge, family demands ₦500m

According to a testimony published by Church Times after the operation, Idachama said he chose the hospital after learning about it through its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adedamola Dada.

"I arrived at the hospital in the last week of August and was taken through a series of orientation sessions to acquaint me with the surgical process," he said.

The pastor explained that he later met Dr Ifeanyi and other members of the medical team, who carefully walked him through everything that would happen before, during and after the surgery.

He described the robotic equipment used during the operation as world-class and said choosing the hospital saved him from spending heavily on overseas medical treatment.

"The pain subsided quickly," Idachama said while speaking about his recovery after the operation.

He added that robotic-assisted surgery provided greater precision, caused much less pain and made recovery easier for patients.

READ ALSO: Noah’s Ark “resting place” reportedly identified after 4,300 years as possible man-made structure is detected underground

One thing that also stood out was how quickly he returned home. According to him, he was discharged less than 24 hours after the surgery.

Idachama said he would confidently recommend Redeemer's Health Village Hospital to family and friends, adding that its facilities can compete with some of the best hospitals anywhere in the world.

The operation involved a radical prostatectomy, a procedure used mainly to treat localised prostate cancer by removing the entire prostate gland, surrounding tissues, the seminal vesicles and, when necessary, nearby pelvic lymph nodes.

Robotic-assisted surgery is becoming more common around the world because it allows surgeons to operate through smaller incisions, which often means less pain, reduced blood loss, lower risk of complications and shorter hospital stays compared to traditional open surgery.

Beyond his pastoral work, Idachama is also an academic. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and specialises in electronics, electrical communication and smart grid research. He also serves as a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), the church that owns Redeemer's Health Village Hospital.

The successful surgery adds another milestone to Nigeria's growing adoption of advanced medical technology and could encourage more patients to consider receiving specialised treatment within the country instead of looking overseas.