Henry Ford Hospital doctors have successfully completed 1,000 robotic prostatectomies

Aug 5 2004

Henry Ford Hospital doctors at the Vattikuti Urology Institute have successfully completed 1,000 robotic prostatectomies, further solidifying them as the international leader in the field for having performed more procedures than any other hospital in the world.

The 1,000th patient, Robert Chesney, says he chose the robotic approach because of all the benefits it offered over other forms of surgery.

“When I found out I had cancer, I began to research the topic extensively,” says Chesney, 57, of Brighton. “As I learned about my options and began to interview doctors at other hospitals, I became discouraged because none of them really sold me on one procedure over another.”

Options that patients like Chesney have for removal of the prostate at most hospitals are conventional surgery, laparoscopic surgery, radiation treatment or seed implants.

“None of them seemed like viable options, so when I heard about the Henry Ford robotic approach, I was very intrigued,” says Chesney.

The procedure, developed by Mani Menon, M.D., director of the Vattikuti Urology Institute, uses a computer-enhanced, minimally invasive surgery that provides many benefits over conventional forms. Doctors use a robotic arm to perform surgery while looking at an image magnified thirty-five times. This improves control over the instruments and increases the ability to identify areas where the cancer may have spread.

Patients who chose robotic surgery over other options have less pain, fewer complications, shorter hospitals stays, faster recovery times, earlier return of urinary control, improved sexual function and less internal scarring.

Chesney met with Dr. Menon and other Henry Ford staff members and decided on the robotic procedure when he heard about all of the benefits.

“The medical advantages were enticing,” says Chesney. “But what really made the decision easier was the confidence I had in Dr. Menon and his staff. From the first phone call to the end of my surgery and beyond, they provided the highest level of care I could have asked for.”

Surgeons at the Institute developed the Vattikuti Institute Prostatectomy (VIP) and were the first in the world to perform the procedure on an outpatient basis. On average, Henry Ford completes between 15 and 20 procedures per week.

http://www.henryfordhealth.org/