Urology, also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive organs. Organs under the domain of urology include the kidneys, adrenal glands, ureters, urinary bladder, urethra, and the male reproductive organs.
A nephrectomy is the surgical removal of a kidney, performed to treat a number of kidney diseases including kidney cancer. It is also done to remove a normal healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor, which is part of a kidney transplant procedure.
Cystectomy is a medical term for surgical removal of all or part of the urinary bladder. It may also be rarely used to refer to the removal of a cyst. The most common condition warranting removal of the urinary bladder is bladder cancer.
Prostatectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland. This operation is done for benign conditions that cause urinary retention, as well as for prostate cancer and for other cancers of the pelvis.
Robot-assisted surgery or robotic surgery are any types of surgical procedures that are performed using robotic systems. Robotically assisted surgery was developed to try to overcome the limitations of pre-existing minimally-invasive surgical procedures and to enhance the capabilities of surgeons performing open surgery.
Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), also known as vesicoureteric reflux, is a condition in which urine flows retrograde, or backward, from the bladder into one or both ureters and then to the renal calyx or kidneys. Urine normally travels in one direction from the kidneys to the bladder via the ureters, with a one-way valve at the vesicoureteral (ureteral-bladder) junction preventing backflow. The valve is formed by oblique tunneling of the distal ureter through the wall of the bladder, creating a short length of ureter (1–2 cm) that can be compressed as the bladder fills. Reflux occurs if the ureter enters the bladder without sufficient tunneling, i.e., too "end-on".
Alexander Gershman is a Russian American surgeon He is considered one of the first surgeons in the world to apply the method of laparoscopic surgery and robotic-assisted surgery to urological surgery and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on minimally invasive surgery. After many years teaching, researching and conducting clinical studies on laparoscopic surgery throughout the world, Gershman is in private practice in Beverly Hills, California. His client list includes numerous Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes.
The da Vinci Surgical System is a robotic surgical system that uses a minimally invasive surgical approach. The system is manufactured by the company Intuitive Surgical. The system is used for prostatectomies, and increasingly for cardiac valve repair, and for renal and gynecologic surgical procedures.
Mani Menon, born 9 July 1948 in Trichur, India, is an American surgeon whose pioneering work has helped to lay the foundation for modern Robotic Cancer Surgery. He is the founding director and the Raj and Padma Vattikuti Distinguished Chair of the Vattikuti Urology Institute at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, where he established the first cancer-oriented robotics program in the world. Menon is widely regarded for his role in the development of robotic surgery techniques for the treatment of patients with prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers, as well as for the development of robotic kidney transplantation.
Menon is the recipient of the Gold Cystoscope award, Hugh Hampton Young award, the Keyes Medal, the prestigious B.C. Roy award.
Ashutosh K. Tewari is the chairman of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is a board certified American urologist, oncologist, and principal investigator. Before moving to the Icahn School of Medicine in 2013, he was the founding director of both the Center for Prostate Cancer at Weill Cornell Medical College and the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Tewari was the Ronald P. Lynch endowed Chair of Urologic Oncology and the hospital's Director of Robotic Prostatectomy, treating patients with prostate, urinary bladder and other urological cancers. He is the current President of the Society for Urologic Robotic Surgeons (SURS) and the Committee Chair of the Prostate Program. Dr. Tewari is a world leading urological surgeon, and has performed over 10,000 robotically assisted procedures using the da Vinci Surgical System. Academically, he is recognized as a world-renowned expert on urologic oncology with over 250 peer reviewed published papers to his credit; he is on such lists as America's Top Doctors, New York Magazine's Best Doctors, and Who's Who in the World. In 2012, he was given the American Urological Association Gold Cystoscope Award for "outstanding contributions to the field of urologic oncology, most notably the treatment of prostate cancer and the development of novel techniques to improve the outcomes of robotic prostatectomy."
Douglas S. Scherr, M.D. is an American surgeon and specialist in Urologic Oncology. He is currently the Clinical Director of Urologic Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine. He also holds an appointment at the Rockefeller University as a Visiting Associate Physician. Scherr was the first physician at Cornell to perform a robotic prostatectomy as well as a robotic cystectomy.
Fraley syndrome is a condition where the superior infundibulum of the upper calyx of the kidney is obstructed by the crossing renal artery branch, causing distension and dilatation of the calyx and presenting clinically as haematuria and nephralgia. Furthermore, when the renal artery obstructs the proximal collecting system, filling defects can occur anywhere in the calyces, pelvis, or ureter.
Dr. Michael A. Palese, is an American urologist specializing in robotic, laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery, with a special emphasis on robotic surgeries relating to kidney cancer and kidney stone disease.
Craig G. Rogers, is an American urologist and the Chair of Urology Vattikuti Urology Institute at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Rogers is known for pioneering minimally invasive robotic kidney surgeries using da Vinci Surgical System including single incision robotic surgeries. He was the first surgeon to utilize ultrasound probe in robotic kidney surgery. On February 9, 2009, he performed the first twittered live robotic surgery.
Mahesh Desai is an Indian urologist who treats various kidney and urological diseases in India. He performs renal transplants in Gujarat, India.
Prokar Dasgupta is an Indian-born British surgeon and academic who is professor of surgery at the surgical academy at King's Health Partners, London, UK. Since 2002, he has been consultant urologist to Guy's Hospital, and in 2009 became the first professor of robotic surgery and urology at King's, and subsequently the chairman of the King's College-Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery.
Vipul R. Patel, FACS is the founder and Medical Director of the Florida Hospital Global Robotics Institute, founder and Vice President of the Society of Robotic Surgery, and founder and Editor Emeritus of The Journal of Robotic Surgery. He is board certified by the American Urological Association and specializes in robotic surgery for prostate cancer. As of February, 2018 he performed his 11,000th robotic-assisted prostatectomy. The large volume of prostatectomies he has performed has enabled him to amass a large amount of statistical evidence regarding the efficacy of robotic techniques which has been used in developing and refining techniques. Patel credits the use of robotic assisted surgery with helping surgeons achieve better surgical outcomes with the "trifecta" of cancer control, continence and sexual function. In the course of his career Patel has led and participated in studies that have resulted in developing improved outcomes for robotic surgery and urologic treatment.
A urogenital fistula is an abnormal tract that exists between the urinary tract and bladder, ureters, or urethra. A urogenital fistula can occur between any of the organs and structures of the pelvic region. A fistula allows urine to continually exit through and out the urogenital tract. This can result in significant disability, interference with sexual activity, and other physical health issues, the effects of which may in turn have a negative impact on mental or emotional state, including an increase in social isolation. Urogenital fistulas vary in etiology. Fistulas are usually caused by injury or surgery, but they can also result from malignancy, infection, prolonged and obstructed labor and deliver in childbirth, hysterectomy, radiation therapy or inflammation. Of the fistulas that develop from difficult childbirth, 97 percent occur in developing countries. Congenital urogenital fistulas are rare; only ten cases have been documented. Abnormal passageways can also exist between the vagina and the organs of the gastrointestinal system, and these may also be termed fistulas.
Ureteric stricture (ureteral stricture) is the pathological narrowing of the ureter which may lead to serious complications such as kidney failure.
Kamran Ahmed is a Professor and a Urological Surgeon who is affiliated with Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi and King's College London, United Kingdom.
