http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/worlds-first-remote-heart-surgery-completed-in-leicester-uk/ I wonder how long before Americans go to get an operation and the Surgeon is in india using remote controlled robots to do the work in the US.
It'll take quite a long while. A return ticket to India is cheaper than post-operation care in most cases.
it is likely that "remote surgery" would still be restricted to US based medstaff. It is not like you can log onto to someone in Bangalore and have them do the surgery in your bedroom... Any more than you could fly in a doctor from the philippines to do surgery in Chicago...