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Robotic surgery improves prostate cancer outcomes

Pedro Banda, MD Urologic Surgeon, Columbia St. Mary’s

Posted: Sept. 1, 2008

Columbia St. Mary’s continues to offer their patients the most advanced, state-of-the-art surgical technology with the da Vinci S HD Surgical System. This breakthrough robotic technology has brought minimally invasive surgery to a new level of precision and quality.

Columbia St. Mary’s was the first hospital in Milwaukee to use robotic surgery with a 3D, high definition viewing screen, giving surgeons a view of the surgical field never before possible. In addition, Columbia St. Mary’s is one of only a few hospitals in Wisconsin offering both laparoscopic and robotic-assisted prostatectomy.

Laparoscopic surgery became popular in the late 1980s. The first laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was performed in 1991, providing a viable alternative to traditional open surgery. In fact, the most radical improvements with minimally invasive surgery have been found in the treatment of prostate cancer, which is the second most common cancer affecting men in the United States. For those who are candidates for laparoscopic prostatectomy, the surgery provides smaller incisions (1-2 cm), shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery, less tissue and muscle damage, less pain, less blood loss and reduced scarring.

Within the last six years, robotic surgery took minimally invasive surgery a step further providing even more precise, accurate surgery and improved outcomes. Cardiac surgery was the first to use a robotic system, but soon after, gynecologic and urologic surgeons found it useful since it has the ability to access deep, narrow spaces difficult to access through traditional open surgery. The prostate is in a narrow space under the pubic bone, deep within the pelvis. In robotic surgery, the precise dissection of the prostate allows removal of the cancer, preservation of the nerves for sexual function as well as the nerves of the bladder sphincter to retain continence.

With robotic surgery, the surgeon performs procedures through an imaging console. The new da Vinci S HD Surgical System is an improved model that offers improved fiber optics through 3D resolution and High Definition, giving the surgeon enhanced visualization of the surgical field in microscopic detail. The system features three robotic arms that mimic the detailed hand movements of the surgeon while at the same time reducing normal hand tremors and improving accuracy. Recent studies have shown that robotic surgery is providing patients with outstanding long-term prognosis.

The evolving technology of robotic surgery has opened the window to the future – improving quality of care and quality of life for men with prostate cancer. The da Vinci S HD Surgical System at Columbia St. Mary’s is giving men the most advanced tools to combat prostate cancer.

To learn more about the da Vinci S HD Surgical System, visit MedicalMoment.org.

Pedro Banda, M.D.
Urologic Surgeon
Columbia St. Mary’s
414-326-1745

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