Urological Surgery
St. Joseph’s urology services use the latest technology, offering a full range of urological procedures and care. The urologists on staff treat cancers of the prostate, kidney, and bladder, as well as kidney and gall stones, enlarged prostate, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Performing more than 80 procedures per year, St. Joseph’s treats more patients with kidney cancer than any other hospital in Central New York.
St. Joseph’s was the first to acquire and use the da Vinci® Surgical System to perform minimally invasive prostatectomies (removal of the prostate) and partial nephrectomies (removal of part of a kidney) and now leads the region in using this technology to perform minimally invasive kidney surgery. With da Vinci – a robot-assisted procedure – a prostatectomy is less invasive for the patient and more precise in removing prostate cancer than traditional open surgery, resulting in fewer complications, less pain and blood loss. During robotic assisted partial nephrectomies, surgeons remove tumors from kidneys, leaving the healthy kidney tissue behind, preserving as much renal function as possible.
St. Joseph’s also offers a full range of related urology services. In the past year:
- St. Joseph’s urologists performed nearly 230 lithotripsy procedures (destruction of gallstones or kidney stones)
- Most of the urological procedures were done in the hospital’s main operating room, but procedures also were performed on an outpatient basis at North Surgery Center in Liverpool, and Northeast Surgery Center in Fayetteville
Conditions
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
An increase in the size of the prostate often associated with significant urinary problems.
Hydrocele
A pathological accumulation of serous fluid in a body cavity.
Procedures
Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL)
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a non-invasive treatment of kidney stones using an acoustic pulse.
Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy
A minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure involving four small incisions made in the abdomen used to remove the entire prostate for treatment of prostate cancer.
Lithotripsy
The physical destruction of gallstones or kidney stones.
Nephrectomy
A nephrectomy is surgery to remove a kidney or part of a kidney. In a partial nephrectomy, part of one kidney or a tumor is removed, but not an entire kidney. In a simple nephrectomy, one kidney is removed. In a radical nephrectomy, an entire kidney, nearby adrenal gland and lymph nodes, and other surrounding tissue are removed. In a bilateral nephrectomy, both kidneys are removed.
Open Prostatectomy
A procedure in which the prostate is accessed through an incision that allows manual manipulation and open visualization through the incision.
Prostatectomy
A prostatectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland. Abnormalities of the prostate, such as a tumour, or if the gland itself becomes enlarged for any reason, can restrict the normal flow of urine along the urethra. There are several forms of the operation, including transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), open prostatectomy or laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor
Transurethral resection of a bladder tumor it is performed by visualizing the bladder through the urethra, a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the genitals for the removal of fluids out of the body, and removing tumorous tissue on the bladder.
Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP)
TURP is used for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and sometimes for symptomatic relief in prostate cancer. A cystoscope – a resectoscope which has a 30 degree viewing angle, along with resectoscopy sheath and working element – is passed up the urethra to the prostate, where the surrounding prostate tissue is excised. This is a common operation for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and outcomes are excellent for a high percentage of these patients (80-90%).
Prostate Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy, or radiation treatment, offered to certain cancer patients. Low dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy is the type that is most commonly used to treat prostate cancer; it may sometimes be referred to as “seed implantation” or it may also be called “pinhole surgery.” In LDR brachytherapy, tiny radioactive particles the size of a grain of rice are implanted directly into the site of the tumour. These particles are known as “seeds,” and they can be inserted linked together as strands, or individually. Because the seeds are inserted or implanted directly into, or very close to, the tumour, they deliver high doses of radiation to the tumour without affecting the normal healthy tissues around it. LDR prostate brachytherapy (seed implantation) is a proven treatment for early, localized prostate cancer (when the cancer is contained within the prostate).
Pyeloplasty
Pyeloplasty is the surgical reconstruction or revision of the renal pelvis to drain and decompress the kidney. Most commonly it is performed to treat an uretero-pelvic junction, the junction between the ureter and the renal pelvis of the kidney, obstruction.
Resources
www.ampofny.com
www.urologyhealth.org
For information on the Foley Catheter, view our Foley Catheter Care Guide.