Minimally Invasive Surgery

University Hospital is the only hospital in
the region offer robot-assisted prostatectomy (RAP)
with daVinci surgical system.

RAP is minimally invasive surgery for prostate cancer that uses the advance in robotics computer technology. It has been shown to improve outcomes following prostate surgery, particularly early recovery and proven tobe as effective as traditional surgery in removing prostate cancer.

Urologist Gabriel Haas MD, professor and chair the Department of Urology at University Hospital, heads the hospital's robotic surgical team. According Dr. Haas, robot-assisted prostatectomy offers patient and the surgical team several advantages.

The Robotic Advantage

"Robot-assisted prostatectomy is less invasive for the patient and is more precise in removing prostate cancer than traditional surgery, resulting in fewer complications, less pain and blood loss, as well as shorter hospital stays recovery time," said Dr. Haas. "The daVinci cameras give our surgical team a larger-than-life, three dimensional view of the surgical field, helping us to better maneuver around the many structures and nerves that surround the prostate. This results in an increased chance of the patient regaining erectile function and continence after surgery. The robotic arms can make precise and flexible surgical moves that a human hand is incapable of making."

The Procedure

During RAP, the surgeon makes several one-quarter to one-half inch incisions in the patient's abdomen, compared to a single five-to-six inch incision fortraditional surgery. A lighted telescope (laparoscope) is then inserted through one of the incisions. Surgical instruments held by daVinci's robotic arms are inserted into theother incisions. The surgeon at a console controls daVinci's robotic arms and surgical instruments. The robotic arms offer the surgeon a full range of motion and the ability to rotate instruments more than 360 degrees through tiny incisions, extending the surgeon’s ability to repetitively perform technically precise maneuvers such as endoscopic suturing and dissetion.

The surgeon then controls the robotic arms to remove the prostate, nearby lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, and adjacent tissue through the small incisions and close the incisions with a few stitches.

RAP is available to prostate cancer patients whose cancer is confined to the prostate and who are in good health. Most insurance carriers cover the cost of the operation.

For More Information:

• Patients: For more information, call University Hospital's Health Connections at 315-464-8668.
• Referring Physicians: MD Direct