Minimally invasive da Vinci® surgical procedures can be used to treat most urologic conditions and cancers. TUCC physicians lead the region in performing prostate and urologic robotic surgery, having performed more than 2,500 of these procedures since 2006. TUCC physicians providing robotic surgical options for patients include: Elias Hsu, M.D., Mark Jones, M.D., Donald May, M.D., Juan Montoya, M.D., Alex Philpott, M.D., and Stephen Ruyle, M.D.
Our physicians specialize in all types of robotic urologic surgery including:
In August 2011, Dr. Hsu performed the first robotic-assisted laparoscopic simple prostatectomy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Colorado and the first robotic-assisted laparoscopic vesicovaginal fistula repair in Denver. TUCC physicians are at the forefront in offering the most advanced treatment for BPH and female urologic conditions in the Rocky Mountain region.
The da Vinci system includes a robot and a surgeon console. The robot's four arms are positioned over the patient during surgery. Small robotic instruments move inside the patient’s body to perform delicate surgical maneuvers. The surgeon console is a separate unit that controls the movements of the robot inside the body and gives surgeons a magnified, high-definition and 3-D view of the surgical site. By utilizing robotic technology, a surgeon's hand movements are motion scaled and any hand tremor is filtered resulting in perfectly translated, precise movements of the instruments. At all times, the surgeon is in complete control of the robotic instrument’s movements.
In contrast to conventional surgical methods which require one large 6-10 inch incision, patients undergoing da Vinci surgeries have several ½ inch (key-hole) incisions through which the surgery is performed. During the surgery, a telescopic camera lens is inserted into one of the small incisions for pristine vision, allowing the surgeon to preserve the nerves, normal tissues and surrounding muscle. The cancerous tissue is then removed from the body through one of the small incisions.
There are many benefits to da Vinci procedures including, shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery times, faster return to normal activity and work, less pain and decreased blood loss. Numerous medical studies have shown that a patient’s surgical outcomes with the da Vinci robot are equal or superior to traditional open surgical procedures for the same urologic conditions.
To learn more about a da Vinci robotic prostatectomy, please download this brochure. Please consult your physician or call 303.825.TUCC (8822) for additional information on the da Vinci robotic procedures performed by TUCC physicians.
TUCC is a proud physician partner of the Porter Robotics Institute (PRI). As the first comprehensive robotics institute in the Rocky Mountain region, PRI performs more robotic surgeries for more conditions than any other facility in Colorado. But PRI offers patients a lot more than robots. The high quality care and all-inclusive services provided at the PRI are not easily found elsewhere.
At the PRI, TUCC surgeons perform robotic surgeries for a wide range of urological conditions, including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer and ureteropelvic junction obstruction.