Minimally Invasive Nephrectomies

A wide variety of conditions may affect a person’s urologic system, which consists of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder and urethra. These conditions include, but are not limited to cancers such as bladder cancer, kidney cancer and benign conditions like ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction and vesicoureteral reflux.

When medication and other non-surgical treatments are either unavailable or cannot relieve symptoms, surgery is the accepted treatment for a broad range of conditions that affect the organs of the urinary tract, such as removal of the kidneys due to blockage of the ureters or kidney cancer.

Until recently, kidney removal could only be accomplished through a surgical procedure called open or partial nephrectomies. This procedure requires a large, muscle-cutting abdominal incision, removal of a rib and a relatively longer hospital stay and recovery period. However, advances in minimally invasive surgery have made advanced surgical procedures possible, such as the da Vinci® Surgical System.

da Vinci Surgery uses state-of-the-art technology to help your doctor perform a more precise operation than conventional surgery allows. It offers several potential benefits over a conventional open surgery, including:

• Significantly less pain
• Less blood loss
• Fewer transfusions
• Less risk of infection
• Less scarring
• Shorter hospital stay and recovery time
• Increased potential for kidney preservation in certain prescribed cancer operations
• Better clinical outcomes, in many cases

For additional information on minimally invasive surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System at Jewish Hospital, please click here.