Author: Dr. Savatta
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Robotic surgery summary- September 2007
In September I performed 19 operations including 13 dvPs. One simple prostatectomy was combined with a left inguinal hernia repair. This was the first time I had performed this combination, although I have performed close to 50 hernia repairs at the time of dvP. The new thing to report is an improvement in continence that…
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Robotic surgery summary- July/August 2007
For the summer months I had the pleasure of inviting my new associate, Dr. Brent Yanke, into our practice. We spent July together and he is now on his own performing most of his robotic surgery. He was well trained at Thomas Jefferson and had participated in over 100 robotic operations. In July and August…
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Robotic surgery summary- May/June 2007
I have been neglectful during the summer with keeping up on my blog. I will hope to catch up and keep my monthly postings of how things are going in my practice. In May and June I performed 32 dvPs, a nephrectomy, a simple prostatectomy, and a partial nephrectomy. The nephrectomy was the live telecast…
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Swiss study shows survival advantage for surgery over radiation therapy for prostate cancer
Prostate Cancer: Surgery Best Option? Men who choose surgery for early prostate cancer are more likely to be alive 10 years later than men who opt for other treatments, a Swiss study shows. “If you look not only at this study but at the studies we brought out in the last three or four years,…
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Robotic radical cystectectomy for bladder cancer
UroToday – Robotic vs Open Radical Cystectomy: Prospective Comparison of Perioperative Outcomes and Pathological Measures of Early Oncological Efficacy – Abstract Robotic-assisted RC appears to offer some operative and perioperative benefits compared with the open approach without compromising pathological measures of early oncological efficacy, such as lymph node yield and margin status. Larger, randomized studies…
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Experience matters for prostate cancer surgery
Study tracks ‘learning curve’ in prostate surgery – CNN.com In this study, experience was measured not by age or years as a surgeon but by the number of times doctors performed this operation. “Advice for patients is to try to seek out experienced surgeons, and they’re likely to be ones who specialize in the procedure,”…
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Robotic Whipple performed in the midwest
UIC News Release A surgical team led by Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti, chief of the division of minimally invasive, general and robotic surgery at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, has performed the first fully robotic Whipple procedure in the Midwest. The operation, also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy, is the most common surgical treatment…
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HIFU study for prostate cancer
UroToday – High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: Efficacy and Morbidity of the Minimally Invasive Procedure I am not personally that impressed with HIFU from what I have been reading and from my research at Indiana. This series shows a relatively high failure rate of almost 30% and over 30% of…
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PSA, free PSA, and the impact of intercourse on PSA
There was a good question asked on a prior entry: Robotic Surgery Blog: Is Prostate Cancer Transmissible?: “Would you please comment on whether there is a connection between sexual activity and elevated PSA. Also, why would test results given to a patient not break down PSA into free and that with protein. Thank you.” PSA…