Category: For patients

  • I have prostate cancer: Do I have to wait 6 weeks to have my surgery?

    One point that is debated among urologists is the time a patient has to wait between a prostate biopsy and surgery. While I was at Indiana my chairman taught me that time didn’t matter. The changes after a biopsy should not affect surgery after several days. I took this with me to New Jersey and…

  • AUA Live Telecast Summary

    On Monday, May 22nd, I performed a live telecast from Newark Beth Israel to the American Urologic Association Conference in Atlanta of a dvP. This was my first live telecast of a surgical procedure. Our case was a success. The patient did very well and was discharged within 24 hours with minimal pain. The robotic…

  • Prostate cancer on The Open Line

    I would like to thank James Mtume and Bob Pickett for having me on their show today. We had an excellent discussion with several points that Id like to summarize. I will also be taking questions from their listeners that can be emailed to [email protected] The broadcast can be heard on a series of MP3…

  • Robotic Prostate Surgery

    Although there is a growing number of prostates being removed robotically, there are many people and top urologists questioning the benefit of the da Vinci prostatectomy over the established open approach. This was recently debated on ABC News. I do find it interesting in that how some urologists that I deeply respect are heavily in…

  • ED and the Veil of Aphrodite

    Dr. Menon gave a presentation at the Pacific Rim Robotics Conference on nerve preservation and the anatomical concept that he has named the veil of Aphrodite. After first reviewing the history of impotence after radical prostatectomy he described the latest modification of his techniques, which he claims further improves the preservation of potency. Originally, of…

  • Robotic Prostate Surgery: Am I a candidate

    In my opinion most patients with prostate cancer are candidates for robotic prostate cancer surgery, or the daVinci Prostatectomy. The ideal patient would be one with early prostate cancer that is likely confined to the prostate. The patient also needs a good chance of living at least 10 years. Certain surgeries and medical conditions can…

  • Telling someone they have prostate cancer

    One of the most difficult things that a urologist has to do is to tell his patient that he has cancer. I recently had a somewhat heated debate with my partner in robotic surgery. Prostate cancer is the leading solid organ cancer in men and is diagnosed by a biopsy in the office. The reasons…

  • Should we do PSA Screening?

    This is a frequently asked question and the answer will vary on who you ask. PSA screening is recommended by the American Urologic Association . An excellent review of the original guidelines can be found at the American Family Physician website. I came across a post on medlogs.com from a blog (retired doc\’s thoughts) by…