Fifty-year-old U.S. Air Force Col. Brandon Kelly and AdventHealth Celebration’s Global Robotics Institute medical director and surgeon Dr. Vipul Patel became part of history earlier this month on Veteran’s Day.
Kelly underwent robotic-assisted prostate surgery. It was Dr. Patel’s 20,000th such procedure, the most by any surgeon in the world.
So now, for both Kelly and Patel, Veterans Day now holds a new meaning.
“For me, Veterans Day is now even more powerful,” Kelly told AdventHealth. “I try to lead my wing and my life by focusing on three things: faith, family and mission, in that order. Your faith keeps you grounded in what’s good, your family stands beside you and then the mission follows.
“This surgery will bring me peace, and I’ll continue to pay it forward. That’s what veterans do. We support the next generation who choose to serve.”
“The next 20,000 isn’t about more surgeries,” Patel said. “It’s about helping more men live whole, healthy lives through education, advocacy and early detection.”
Kelly said he insisted on undergoing prostate cancer testing after his father was diagnosed and eventually died from the disease. He didn’t know prostate cancer ran in his family until then.
“If sharing my story helps one man get screened sooner, then it’s worth it,” he said. “That’s how we take care of each other, by paying attention, by acting early and by believing healing is possible. Be proactive and don’t take no for an answer.
“This surgery will save my life. I’ve spent my career protecting others, but I also realize how important it was to protect my own health. Early screening caught my cancer in time and now I want every man to know that early detection truly matters.”
Patel said Kelly’s story captures the very heart of wholeperson care.
“Healing isn’t just about removing cancer,” Patel said. “It’s about restoring hope, body, mind and spirit. Brandon’s courage is a reminder that prostate cancer doesn’t have to be a silent disease. When men are screened early, their chances of cure are incredibly high.”
Patel said he wants to use the milestone to raise awareness about the need for early prostatecancer screening, especially for men at higher risk including those with a family history or African American men.
“We’re seeing younger men and more aggressive cancers because screening has declined,” Patel said. “The average man should begin screening at 50 but many need to start at 40. Every man deserves the chance to detect cancer early when it’s most treatable. We’ve written to national health leaders asking for change. It’s time we treat prostate health with the same urgency as other cancers.”
He and his team are also advocating for updated national screening guidelines, urging policymakers to make prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing a standard part of men’s preventive care.
Patel’s telesurgery innovation beyond the record-setting number of robotic prostatectomies has included a world-first procedure in Angola, when he remotely operated on a patient almost 7,000 miles away earlier this year.
“Dr. Patel’s achievement is extraordinary not only for its scale but for what it represents in whole-person care,” AdventHealth Celebration CEO Amanda Maggard said. “He continues to redefine what’s possible through innovation, research and compassion that meet every patient where they are.”
Information from AdventHealth was used in this report.
AdventHealth surgeon using landmark robotic procedure to call for earlier prostate screening
