Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015 - (Page 3)

The da Vinci surgical team at UM SJMC. A Delicate Matter Robotic surgery spares patient's kidney, removes tumor, with quick recovery K idney cancer is one of the top 10 most common Dietrick, MD, chief of surgery at UM St. Joseph, and a clini- cancers in the United States. Partial-nephrectomy cal associate professor of surgery at UM School of Medicine. is a kidney-sparing surgery to remove a kidney Dr. Dietrick explained that if cryotherapy didn't destroy the tumor, while leaving the healthy tissue in place and entire tumor, Pechulis would also no longer be a candidate preserving as much kidney function as possible. DECADE OF EXPERIENCE When Roland Pechulis was diagnosed with a kidney tumor, he consulted his urologist, Marc Siegelbaum, MD, right away. for robotic surgery and might eventually need his entire kidney removed. For Pechulis, that sealed the decision. "I was able to gather a lot of information. I got very high recommendations for Dr. Siegelbaum." "Robotic surgery is very high-tech and advanced," says Little did Pechulis realize, he was already in the hands of Dr. Siegelbaum, who is board-certified in urology. "We're one of the area's few experts in robotic surgery for kidney- saving a lot of kidneys that would have otherwise been sparing surgery. Dr. Siegelbaum reviewed Pechulis' CT scan removed completely. We're also saving patients from having and explained that he was an excellent candidate for robotic an open surgery, more blood loss and a longer recovery. surgery, especially since the tumor was at the bottom of "Because of the magnification and precise instrumenta- the kidney. However, they wouldn't know whether the tumor tion, the surgery is faster and is done in a more delicate was cancerous until it was removed and biopsied. manner, which is very important with partial nephrectomy," Robotic surgery has been performed at University of he says. "The blood vessels feeding the kidney need to be Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center for the last decade for isolated and temporarily clamped. We have 30 minutes to prostatectomy (treatment for prostate cancer). Dr. Siegelbaum, excise the tumor, reconstruct the kidney, and unclamp the chief of urology at UM St. Joseph, is now applying his expertise vessels to prevent injury to the healthy kidney tissue." from performing hundreds of da Vinci prostatectomies to surgery for partial and complete nephrectomies. RESEARCHING OPTIONS ALMOST PAINLESS OPERATION Pechulis received good news: his tumor was benign. In addition, he says, "I didn't feel any pain after the operation. I was Pechulis had confidence in Dr. Siegelbaum but wanted to totally shocked by that. Two weeks later, I was able to return research other options just to be sure. He consulted a sur- to my regular activities." geon at another hospital who recommended cryotherapy to freeze and biopsy the tumor. That sounded good until Pechulis learned that cryotherapy may not kill the whole tumor and could possibly kill nearby healthy tissue. For IS ROBOTIC SURGERY RIGHT FOR YOU? peace of mind, Pechulis got a third opinion from Daniel For more information, visit stjosephtowson.com/davinci. stjosephtowson.com | Spring 2015 3 http://www.stjosephtowson.com/davinci http://www.stjosephtowson.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015

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Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015