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Urologists at Hackensack University Medical Center utilize minimally invasive robotic-assisted techniques to treat a number of urologic disorders, including prostate cancer and uretero-pelvic junction obstruction. Robotic surgery is particularly useful for these surgeries because they require intricate suturing.

Precision Lessens Trauma
Through the use of breakthrough robotic-asssisted techniques, many surgical procedures that involve large incisions can now be performed with remarkable precision through small keyhole incisions.

Robotic surgery is performed by a surgeon sitting behind a remote console outfitted with high-definition video technology located several feet from the patient. The surgeon’s hands maneuver “joysticks” that enable him/her to control the movements of microsurgical robotic instruments and a tiny camera that are inserted into the patient through keyhole incisions.

Correcting Uretero-Pelvic Junction Obstruction
Robotic pyeloplasty, which corrects uretero-pelvic junction obstruction, is performed through a few keyhole incisions. The robotic instruments are used to remove the area of blockage and reattach the ureter to the kidney to ensure the passage of urine from the ureter to the bladder.

Revolutionizing Prostatectomy
In 2006, two of the Department of Urology’s leaders – Ihor S. Sawczuk, M.D., and Ravi Munver, M.D. -- astounded audiences of their peers at several worldwide conferences by reporting that 95 percent of the radical prostatectomies performed to treat localized prostate cancer at the medical center in 2005 were done using robotic-assisted technology. (The national average was only 20 percent in 2005.) This percentage is among the highest of hospitals and medical centers in the United States that have the robotic daVinci™ Surgical System.

Hackensack University Medical Center is the first institution in the world to own four daVinci™ systems. It is expected that robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy may become the “gold standard” of treatment once data is completed that shows it is comparable to traditional “open” surgery, yet is easier on the patient.

Dr. Sawczuk has more than 20 years of experience treating men with prostate cancer. He has received a number of citations, including being named one of the “Best Doctors in New York” (New York magazine) and BestDocs.com. Dr. Munver was named one of the “Best Doctors in America,” chosen by his peers based on his experience, skills, and insight.

For more information about robotic-assisted surgery, call the Department of Urology at (201) 336-8090.