This is a monthly update on the growth of Robotic Surgery in my practice.
May of 2006 was my busiest robotic surgery month to date. I performed the most operations (17) and the most non-dvP robotic operations (6) to date. With 2 robots and a world class surgical assistant, my schedule is now only limited by how many operations I can do with my schedule.
In May I performed 17 robotic operations. There were many highlights this month:
I performed 11 robotic prostatectomies that were all discharged the following day.
One patient had the most difficult dissection of the plane between the rectum and prostate that I have ever seen in any of my 400+ prostate operations. It seems that he had picked up Schistosomiasis while in Africa and this made for an extremely difficult operation. I think it may be the worlds first diagnosis of Schistosomiasis in this fashion. He also had an umbilical hernia and a robotic inguinal hernia repaired at the same setting and was also discharged the following day.
On May 22nd, I performed the live dvP to the AUA.
After that operation, I performed my first fully robotic nephroureterectomy for ureteral cancer. The S had a much larger range of motion that made the operation easier than with the standard. I was able to remove the bladder cuff without having to open the bladder, which made the patient’s recovery much easier.
I also performed 2 robotic radical nephrectomies for kidney cancer with excellent results (all with the S). One patient had a robotic gallbladder removal at the same setting.
I performed my 6th robotic partial nephrectomy, the first with the S.
I performed 2 robotic simple prostatectomies for BPH. One was in a man that was 88 years old and couldn’t urinate due to an extremely large prostate.
For the month of June, I have 18 robotic prostatectomies scheduled.