The Ministry of Health (MOH), Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, Zain Kuwait—the country’s leading telecom operator—and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) have announced that Kuwait has been awarded a new Guinness World Records title for the longest distance between a patient and a surgeon.
The recognition by Guinness was achieved through a recent remote robotic surgery performed by the surgical team at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital on a patient in Brazil, across a record distance that exceeded 12,000 kilometers.
This accomplishment underscores Kuwait’s pioneering role in the field of remote digital surgery, relying on the latest medical technologies and Zain’s state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure to deliver a global first.
H.E. the Minister of Health, Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab Al-Awadhi, said:
“Kuwait’s inclusion in the Guinness World Records with a medical and technological achievement of this magnitude is not merely a global record; it is a clear message that our national healthcare system is capable of standing at the forefront globally.”
Director General of KFAS, Dr. Ameenah Rajab Farhan, said:
“It gives me great joy to write these words, words of innovation that span continents and transcend distances, as we celebrate a national achievement that places Kuwait on the map of global medical leadership with a world record in robotic surgery.”
Meanwhile, Nawaf Al-Gharabally, Chief Executive Officer at Zain Kuwait, said:
“This achievement is not only a world record; it is a serious step toward a thriving digital future in which we harness technology to serve people, from Kuwait to the world. It also reflects the purpose we have embraced at Zain to deliver ‘Lasting Connections and Better Lives,’ showcasing technology’s impact on people’s lives, under our new 4WARD strategy led by Zain Group Vice Chairman and CEO, Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, whose unlimited support was pivotal to this success.”
“We are delighted to be an active part of this global medical achievement. Zain’s contribution alongside national institutions reaffirms our leadership in driving digital transformation in the healthcare sector. It is compelling evidence that Kuwait has the talent and capabilities to lead a new era in which geographic borders give way to the power of technological innovation,” he added.
Zain’s Role in the Project
The project faced major technical challenges that required a fast and stable network connection between the two continents to avoid any delay that could affect the surgical workflow. Zain provided the communications infrastructure through advanced international MPLS technology, enabling a secure, high-speed link between Kuwait and Brazil.
As a result, the latency between surgeon and patient was under 0.2 seconds only (approximately 199 milliseconds) throughout the procedure. This record-low latency allowed the surgeons to control the robot almost in real time despite the vast distance. The highly reliable connection was a decisive factor in ensuring smooth, uninterrupted remote surgery, proving that Kuwait’s infrastructure is ready to support global digital medical innovations.
Guinness World Records Statement
On 23 September 2025, surgical teams operating from Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital in Kuwait and SCOLLA in Hospital Cruz Vermelha in Brazil performed a series of robotic tele-surgery operations across a record-breaking distance of 12,034.92 km (7,480 miles) each way. The procedures were inguinal TAPP (transabdominal preperitoneal) repair, carried out using advanced robotic surgical systems connected over a secured high-bandwidth international network provided by Zain Telecommunications and supported by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
The operations were made possible through the collaboration of surgeons and scientists from Edge Medical and AUMET, who successfully completed the surgery with an average latency of 199 milliseconds, an average bandwidth of 80 Mbps, and a packet loss of just 0.19%.
Both operations were completed successfully and safely, underscoring the feasibility of global collaboration in surgical care and setting a new benchmark in the field of remote robotic surgery. The surgeons were Dr. Sulaiman Almazeedi, Dr. Marcelo Loureiro, Dr. Mohannad Alhaddad, Dr. Ahmed Karim, Dr. Hmoud Alrashidi, and Dr. Leandro Totti Cavazzola.
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