If your doctor has told you that medication or another nonsurgical therapy is not enough to take care of a urologic disease or disorder, surgery may be the next option.
Our robotic urologic surgery program is a place to start for a first or second opinion. This type of specialized surgery uses computer-assisted technology, which allows surgeons to use minimally invasive techniques for general and complex surgeries. This allows us to be more accurate and precise, which leads to better results for patients.
Many urologic surgical procedures can be safety done with robotic minimally invasive surgery, which has transformed the way we care for people with tumors of the prostate, bladder and kidneys, disorders of the adrenal glands, and blockages that disrupt the flow of urine.
Our robotic urology team has experience and advanced skills performing robotic procedures including:
- Removal of the prostate (prostatectomy) for cancer or enlarged prostate
- Removal of a kidney tumor (partial nephrectomy)
- Complex urinary tract reconstructions
- Treatment of urinary blockages (strictures), such as pyeloplasty to repair a blocked ureter (a tube connecting a kidney to the bladder)
- Bladder cancer surgery, including removal of part or all of the bladder (cystectomy)
- Removal of lymph nodes in the pelvis to see if they contain cancer (pelvic lymph node dissection)
Smaller incisions, faster recoveries
When you have robotic surgery, the robot does not do the operation by itself. Your surgeon still performs the procedure, operating the robot’s arms and tools from a console. Using the robot, your surgeon has a magnified view of the inside of your body, with better ability to see tiny structures such as nerves and blood vessels thereby reducing the risk of damaging delicate anatomy. The robot’s tools also allow the surgeon to work with greater precision and skill.
Robotic surgery may offer the following benefits:
- Smaller incisions, meaning less blood loss, reduced chance of infection, less discomfort, and a faster recovery
- Less need for pain medication after surgery
- Fewer complications, including a lower risk of problems with urinary control or sexual function
- A shorter hospital stay
- A quicker return to enjoying time with your family and getting back to work
Preserving your kidney function
If you need a kidney operation, robotic surgery may help preserve your kidney function. With conventional kidney surgery, the blood vessels supplying the entire kidney are clamped. This reduces blood flow to healthy tissue and raises the risk of reduced kidney function after surgery.
We were among the first to use the Firefly fluorescence imaging system to map the vessels supplying blood to a kidney tumor, right in the operating room. This system enables our surgeons to often clamp only those vessels that supply the tumor while allowing oxygen-rich blood to continue to flow to the rest of your healthy kidney tissue through the unclamped vessels and helping your kidney to continue to function after surgery.