A new era in neurosurgical care for the entire region
In the Caribbean province of Colón, long accustomed to sending its most vulnerable patients on long journeys to the capital, a year-old hospital has quietly redrawn the map of who receives complex care and where. On May 15th, surgeons at Hospital Manuel Amador successfully performed the region's first craniotomy — opening a skull, removing a tumor, and in doing so, opening something larger: a question about the geography of medical dignity. The operation on a 50-year-old woman was not merely a surgical milestone but a signal that infrastructure, when genuinely invested in, can begin to correct the quiet inequities of place.
- For years, patients in Colón facing brain tumors had no choice but to travel hours to Panama City — a burden that fell hardest on those least able to bear it.
- On May 15th, neurosurgeons Héctor Lezcano and Francisco Medina successfully completed the region's first craniotomy, operating on a 50-year-old woman whose recovery is now underway.
- President Mulino visited the hospital the same day, touring its departments and hearing from patients who expressed satisfaction — a rare alignment of political visibility and genuine institutional function.
- The hospital, only a year old and jointly run by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, has already logged over 5,000 surgeries and nearly 50,000 emergency cases, signaling it is no symbolic project.
- Pathological analysis of the extracted tumor tissue is now underway, with results expected to shape the next phase of the patient's treatment and potentially define the scope of future neurosurgical capacity across the Caribbean region.
Panama's Hospital Manuel Amador, located in the Caribbean province of Colón, performed something its region had never done before: a craniotomy to remove a brain tumor. The patient was a 50-year-old woman. The surgery succeeded. On May 15th, President José Raúl Mulino visited the hospital to mark the occasion, meeting with the two neurosurgeons who led the procedure, Héctor Lezcano and Francisco Medina.
For years, patients in Colón requiring this level of neurological intervention had been transferred to Panama City, where the expertise existed. A craniotomy — opening the skull to access and remove a brain tumor — is among the most delicate procedures in medicine. Its successful completion in Colón meant that expertise now existed there too.
The hospital had only opened in June 2025, operating as a joint venture between the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund — a model Mulino described as efficient and cost-effective. Walking through its departments, from neonatology to hemodialysis to outpatient consultations, the president found patients who said they were satisfied and a facility that had maintained its opening-day standards.
The numbers behind the institution were striking: in just four months between December 2025 and March 2026, it had performed over 5,000 surgeries, handled nearly 50,000 emergency cases, dispensed close to 141,000 medications, and run more than 246,000 laboratory tests. These were not the figures of a struggling hospital — they were the marks of one that had become essential.
Lezcano noted that tissue extracted during the operation would undergo pathological analysis to determine the tumor's cellular composition and guide further treatment. The surgery had succeeded; the work of understanding what was removed, and what comes next, was just beginning. For a region historically treated as peripheral, the ability to perform neurosurgery at home was more than a technical achievement — it was a statement about who deserves access to care, and where.
Panama's Hospital Manuel Amador, tucked in the Caribbean province of Colón, performed something its region had never done before: a craniotomy to remove a brain tumor. The surgery happened on a 50-year-old woman, and it worked. On May 15th, President José Raúl Mulino visited the hospital to mark the occasion, walking through its corridors and speaking with the neurosurgeons who made it possible.
The two doctors who led the operation, Héctor Lezcano and Francisco Medina, explained to the president what they had accomplished. This was not routine work. A craniotomy—opening the skull to access and remove a tumor from the brain—ranks among the most delicate procedures in medicine. For years, patients in Colón needing this kind of intervention had no choice but to travel to Panama City, the capital, where the specialized expertise existed. Now it existed here.
The hospital itself was only a year old, having opened in June 2025. It operates as a joint venture between the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, a structure the president noted as efficient and cost-effective. Mulino walked through the facility's various departments—neonatology, hemodialysis, the outpatient consultation area—and spoke with patients and their families. They told him they were satisfied. The president observed that the hospital maintained the same standards and cleanliness it had shown on opening day.
What made this craniotomy significant was not just the surgery itself, but what it signaled about the region's medical capacity. Colón, historically marginalized in terms of healthcare investment and infrastructure, now possessed the equipment, the trained personnel, and the institutional support to handle neurosurgical emergencies. Patients would no longer need to be transported hours away for brain surgery. The procedure opened what officials described as a new era in neurosurgical care for the entire region.
Lezcano noted that while the patient recovered, tissue samples extracted during the operation would undergo pathological analysis. This analysis would reveal the tumor's cellular composition and allow doctors to establish a definitive diagnosis, guiding the next phase of treatment. The surgery itself had succeeded; now came the work of understanding exactly what had been removed and what came next.
The numbers told a story of a functioning, busy hospital. Between December 2025 and March 2026—just four months—the facility had performed 5,038 surgeries. It had handled 49,161 emergency cases. The pharmacy had dispensed nearly 141,000 medications. The laboratory had run more than 246,000 tests. Radiology had completed over 16,000 simple X-ray studies and more than 2,000 CT scans. Nearly 3,900 patients had been discharged. These were not the statistics of a struggling institution; they were the marks of a hospital that had integrated itself into the region's healthcare ecosystem and was being used.
The craniotomy represented a threshold. It showed that the investment in Colón's medical infrastructure was not symbolic but functional—that the hospital could handle cases of genuine complexity. For a region that had long been treated as peripheral, the ability to perform first-world-level neurosurgery at home was more than a technical achievement. It was a statement about who got access to care, and where.
Notable Quotes
This is a good example of integrated health services. It's a hospital working under the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, saving us costs and delivering world-class medicine.— President José Raúl Mulino
The tumor samples will be analyzed by pathology to determine the cell type and establish a definitive diagnosis.— Dr. Héctor Lezcano
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does one surgery in one hospital matter enough to bring a president to visit?
Because it's the first time this region could do it at all. Before, a 50-year-old with a brain tumor had no choice but to leave home, leave family, travel to the capital. Now she didn't have to.
But the hospital's been open a year. Why did it take this long to do a craniotomy?
Building the capacity takes time. You need the right surgeons, the right equipment, the right infrastructure. You need to prove the hospital works for routine cases first. This craniotomy was the proof that Colón had arrived at a different level.
What happens to the patient now?
Recovery, first. But the real question is what the tumor cells tell them. The pathology will determine whether this was benign or malignant, and that changes everything about what comes next—whether she needs chemotherapy, radiation, monitoring.
And if this works well, what's the ripple effect?
Other Caribbean hospitals start asking: why can't we do this? You get competition, you get investment, you get more people trained. One successful surgery becomes a model for a region.
Is Colón still considered a forgotten place?
It was. This hospital, and now this surgery, suggests that's changing. But one procedure doesn't erase years of neglect. It's a beginning.