Partial Nephrectomy

Maximum Results, Minimal Incisions

Dr. Shaw has been chosen since 2004 to be one of a select group of surgeons from Intuitive Surgical, to be a nationwide proctor of da Vinci Robotic Surgery. Dr. Shaw routinely participates in national and international events for robotic surgery, keeping up with the latest technology in this rapidly expanding area of Urology. At Austin Urology Institute, our philosophy for diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer with robotics is simple: Personalized care using the latest technology. This results in 24-48 hour hospitalizations in the majority of our patients. Less pain, smaller incisions, and faster recovery. Dr. Shaw makes it a priority to be personally involved in every step of the diagnosis, surgery, and recovery, to ensure a path to restoring health and wellness.

What is da Vinci Robotic Surgery?

Simply put, the reason why we used to make large incisions for major surgeries was so we could put our hands inside the body. With the the advent of robotics, we perform the same surgery, arguably better, with smaller incisions, because instead of the surgeon’s hands, we only need to make a few small 1/2 inch incisions to insert the robotic hands. From there, we use 3-D vision, High Definition (HD) Cameras, laparoscopic ultrasound, and the latest technology to translate the surgeon’s hand movements to the robotics. Think Wii for robotic surgeons! All this technology translates to more precise movements, vision that is magnified in 3-D and other benefits. Results? My patients rarely require blood transfusions, have less pain than open surgery, and return home in 24-48 hours.

What is da Vinci Robotic Partial Nephrectomy?

The kidney may occasionally have a tumor that involves part, but not the entire kidney. Up till recently, and still, many surgeons may opt to remove the entire kidney. In many situations, this is still necessary. However, if the tumor is ideally located, many patients may benefit from excising just the part of the kidney involving the tumor, leaving the remaining kidney intact. Patients that are obese, older, diabetic, hypertensive, or that have other conditions, can benefit from preserving as much kidney (filtering) tissue as possible.Traditionally, patients often required either removal of the entire kidney, or having a partial nephrectomy done via open incision, which is a large incision extending from the front to the back, just under the ribs. This is understandably a painful incision with a longer recuperation time.

Modern robotics allows for the same procedure to be performed with just 5 small incisions the length of this line.Using the latest 3D-HD technology, we are able to use laparoscopic ultrasound to identify the tumor, utilize robotics to incise the tumor, and then reconstruct the kidney. Same as open surgery, just with smaller incisions. Patients typically go home 2-3 days after the surgery, and can return to regular activities much faster than with open surgery.

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