The Charles Nicolle hospital in Tunis marked, this Tuesday, November 11, 2025, a historic milestone for Tunisian medicine by successfully carrying out the first robotic surgical operation on the digestive system, a first in the country.
This procedure, lasting 45 minutes, was carried out successfully and without any complications. It was carried out by Doctor Ramzi Nouira and his team, in collaboration with the anesthesia and resuscitation department led by Doctor Alia Jabri. This feat officially marks Tunisia’s entry into the era of intelligent surgery.
Robotic surgery is based on a sophisticated system where the surgeon remotely controls a robot equipped with articulated arms. The latter reproduces the practitioner’s gestures with millimeter precision, while offering a three-dimensional and amplified vision of the operated area. The advantages are multiple: fewer incisions, less post-operative pain, shorter hospital stay and faster recovery for patients.
The Minister of Health, Moustapha Ferjani, visited the site with the South Korean Ambassador, LEE Tae-won, to welcome this medical advance. The minister stressed that this first represents the starting point of a national strategy aimed at generalizing robotic surgery in other specialties and hospitals in the country. The medium-term objective is to make Tunisia a regional “smart health” hub, combining technology and medical excellence.
For his part, the Korean diplomat reaffirmed South Korea’s commitment to supporting Tunisia in the development of cutting-edge medical technologies, particularly through training, transfer of know-how and hospital cooperation.
With this first successful operation, Tunisia confirms its ambition to embrace the medicine of the future, where artificial intelligence, robotics and digital precision will revolutionize surgical practice.
