Urology

Our robotic urology team is committed to providing innovative treatment options to help patients with a range of urologic conditions. We provide quality health care using the most advanced technology, state-of-the-art diagnostic treatments and comprehensive care available today.

Robotic Urology Procedures

• Prostatectomy
• Adrenalectomy
• Partial nephrectomy (see more below)
• Pyeloplasty (see more below)
• Lymphadenectomy

daVinci Surgery: The #1 Treatment Choice for Prostate Cancer

Today, if your doctor recommends surgery to treat your prostate cancer, you may be a candidate for a very effective, minimally invasive procedure called da Vinci Surgery. This procedure uses state-of-the-art technology designed to help your doctor perform the most precise and least invasive prostate cancer surgery available today.

For most patients, da Vinci Surgery offers numerous potential benefits over open surgery including:

• Excellent cancer control
• Faster return of urinary continence
• Faster return of sexual function
• Shorter hospital stay
• Low level of pain
• Less blood loss and transfusions
• Lower risk of infection, complications
• Faster recovery and return to normal activities

Robotic Urology Procedures – Additional Information

Partial Nephrectomy

The kidneys are two small, fist-sized organs located behind the abdomen on each side of the spine. Their function is to produce urine, which is then stored in the bladder until it is emptied. By producing urine, kidneys remove toxic by-products and excess fluids from the body. This process helps to maintain a critical balance of salt, potassium and acid. Each year, 54,000 Americans are diagnosed with kidney cancer and more than 13,000 die from this disease.1 Overall, kidney cancer is slightly more common in men and is usually diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 70 years.

The most common kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma. Fortunately, with early diagnosis and treatment, kidney cancer can be cured. If found early, the survival rate ranges from 79 to 100 percent. Kidney cancer is relatively resistant to noninvasive treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.3 As a result, the gold standard treatment for localized kidney cancer is surgery.3 Kidney surgery is traditionally performed using an open approach, which requires a large abdominal incision. Another approach, conventional laparoscopy, is less invasive but limits the doctor’s precision, visualization and control compared to open surgery. da Vinci Surgery for kidney cancer uses the best techniques of open surgery and applies them to a robotic-assisted, minimally invasive approach.

Treatment

The precision, vision and control of the da Vinci Surgical System allows your surgeon to provide a precise, minimally invasive treatment for kidney cancer. It may also provide your surgeon the means to preserve your kidney by removing the tumor and not the entire kidney. Preserving your kidney can help prevent future kidney disease and even dialysis.  If you have been diagnosed with kidney cancer, you may be a candidate for a very effective, minimally invasive approach — da Vinci Surgery. da Vinci Surgery uses state-of-the-art technology to help your doctor perform a more precise operation as compared to conventional surgery. It offers numerous potential benefits over open surgery, including:

• Significantly less pain
• Less blood loss and fewer transfusions
• Less risk of infection
• Less scarring
• Shorter hospital stay and recovery time
• Increased potential to preserve the kidney in certain cancer operations
• Better clinical outcomes, in many cases

As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed, as surgery is patient and procedure-specific.

Pyeloplasty

The urinary system is the group of organs that produces, stores, and eliminates urine. It includes two kidneys, two ureters and the bladder. The urinary system removes toxic by-products and excess fluids from the body, helping to maintain a critical balance of salt, potassium and acid. A common condition affecting the urinary system is blockage (obstruction) of the ureters, the narrow tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Ureteral blockages are more common in children than adults. Urinary tract obstruction is most frequently present at birth. It can also result from illness or injury. Blockages can cause acute pain and serious side effects. If left untreated, they can cause chronic pain and damage the kidney over time.

Two commonly diagnosed urinary conditions involving blockage are ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Approximately one in 10 children are estimated to have VUR, though many do not have symptoms. In serious cases, patients need immediate treatment. Depending on the location of the obstruction, short-term options may include a catheter (small tube) inserted through the urethra into the bladder to drain urine; a stent (hollow tube) to keep the ureter open; or a tube inserted through the lower back to drain urine directly from the kidney. If your doctor recommends surgery to treat a urinary obstruction, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive da Vinci Surgery. Using the most advanced technology available, da Vinci enables your surgeon to perform delicate and complex operations through a few tiny incisions with breakthrough vision, precision, dexterity and control. da Vinci Surgery for Urinary Obstruction also allows for improved access inside the pelvis.

Treatment

Urinary tract surgery can be performed using an open approach, meaning doctors must make a large abdominal incision. With open surgery there is potentially a painful recovery.4 Another approach is conventional laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopy is less invasive but limits the surgeon’s dexterity, vision and control due to the instruments used during surgery. surgery, individual results may vary. Surgery with the treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits. If your doctor recommends surgery to treat a urinary obstruction, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive da Vinci Surgery. Using the most advanced technology available, da Vinci enables your surgeon to perform delicate and complex operations through a few tiny incisions with breakthrough vision, precision, dexterity and control. da Vinci Surgery for Urinary Obstruction also allows for improved access inside the pelvis. State-of-the-art da Vinci Surgery offers several potential benefits over traditional open and laparoscopic surgery, including: