Revolutionizing urology: The impact of single-port robotic surgery

Minimally invasive urological surgery employs advanced techniques that enable urologists to treat specific conditions without resorting to traditional open surgery. One of these techniques is single-port robotic surgery, which has revolutionized the medical field by offering a level of precision and flexibility that traditional surgery does not. By regionalizing the surgical field only to the affected area, this approach dramatically reduces pain and recovery time for patients. In many cases, surgery that required a several-day hospital stay can now be performed with same-day discharge using regionalized single-port robotic surgery.

A common misconception is that robotic surgery involves robots performing surgeries independently. In reality, robotic surgery uses highly sophisticated technology that translates the surgeon’s hand motions in real-time through a console to tiny instruments inside the body. The single-port technique allows operations to occur through a single 2.5-inch-wide incision. At Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, surgeons employ the Da Vinci Single Port system for a broad range of urologic procedures.

Dr. Richard Link, professor and Carlton-Smith Endowed Chair in Urologic Education at Baylor College of Medicine, is at the forefront of single-site robotic surgery and teaches the surgical technique to surgeons around the world.

“The Da Vinci SP robotic system is empowering technology that helps to simplify complex urologic surgery, increases efficiency and accelerates patient recovery,” Link said. “This robot is allowing us to tackle complex urologic disease in ways we could not have even imagined a decade ago.”

Surgeons used the single-port system for a wide range of procedures, including:

• Kidney cancer procedures such as procedures to remove kidney tumors and reconstruct the kidney to preserve kidney function and kidney removal.
• Prostate surgeries, including radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer and surgery to relieve prostate obstruction.
• Urinary tract reconstruction to address obstruction from congenital conditions, trauma and tumors.

Because the technique uses a single tiny incision localized to the space around the organ of interest, there is little to no scarring and reduced complications. Some advantages of this surgical technique include:

• The opportunity to perform multiple procedures at the same time through a single small incision.
• Patients report less pain and use of pain medication postoperatively.
• Procedures that used to require several days of hospitalization can be done on an outpatient basis.
• Faster recovery and return to regular activity.
• Minimal scarring.
• Avoidance of the abdomen for many procedures that used to require entry into the abdominal cavity – making surgery safer, particularly for patients with prior abdominal surgery.

Single-site robotic surgery is energizing the field of minimally invasive urologic surgery with Baylor St. Luke’s playing an important part in applying this revolutionary technology.

By Alexandria Brown, senior marketing associate in the Scott Department of Urology