Telesurgery in neurosurgery: An emerging tool to close – or widen – the global equity gap?

ElsevierVolume 72, Issue 1, January 2026, 101765NeurochirurgieAuthor links open overlay panelFritz Fidel Váscones-Román a b c d, Gonzalo Jair Callahuanca-Flores a c d, Johnny Alejandro Mendoza-Riega a dShow moreHighlights•

Telesurgery has already been applied to neurosurgical stereotaxy and 5 G-assisted spinal fusion with high technical accuracy.

Profound disparities in neurosurgeon density position telesurgery as a potential—but not guaranteed—lever for global equity.

Safe neurosurgical telesurgery requires strict latency control (<200–300 ms), minimal packet loss and robust local fail-safe protocols.

Cybersecurity, cross-border liability and regulation emerge as central challenges in neurosurgical telesurgery.

Without deliberate policies, telesurgery may widen existing technology gaps; integrating it into global neurosurgery and health-system strengthening is essential.

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The authors have no funding to report.

Disclosures

The authors have no personal, financial, or institutional interest in any of the drugs, materials, or devices described in this article.

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