Brazil's Hospital de Amor expands tele‑surgery and confronts major funding shortfall

A remote surgical operation was performed at the Hospital de Amor in Porto Velho, with the leading surgeon traveling more than 2,700 km to assist via tele‑cirurgia. The procedure highlighted the need for well‑structured local surgical services, reliable technical support and clear risk‑management guidelines, as the current regulations do not yet cover tele‑surgery.

Hospital president Henrique Prata said the institution, the largest free oncology network in Latin America, continues to provide advanced cancer care under the SUS but operates with a monthly operational deficit of R$50‑60 million. He urged the government to increase funding and pointed to recent inclusion of robotic prostatectomy in the SUS procedure list as an example of needed support, noting that other complex surgeries remain uncovered.