State's First Single Incision Robotic Kidney Removal Performed at Henry For...( DETROIT Aug. 25 /- For the first ...)

DETROIT, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in Michigan, a diseased kidney has been surgically removed at using highly sophisticated 3D robotics through a single incision.

"We made several improvements in the technique that could allow us to perform this type of procedure routinely," says Craig Rogers, M.D., Henry Ford's director of robotic renal surgery. He performed the delicate operation last week using the da Vinci Surgical System, which has already been used in thousands of successful surgeries for complete and partial removal of diseased prostates.

The kidney, damaged by four tumors, was extracted through an incision of about three inches near the patient's navel of a 50-year-old patient during a complex minimally invasive robotic procedure that lasted approximately 2.5 hours.

The procedure takes its name in part from its minimally invasive approach: SIRS or Single Incision Robotic Surgery.

"We traditionally try to save the kidney for smaller tumors, performing a robotic partial nephrectomy," says Dr. Rogers. "For larger tumors, however, patients would get a very large incision on their side. Now, we can remove kidneys with cancer through a single three-inch incision near the patient's belly button."

The potential benefits to performing the SIRS nephrectomy are improved cosmetics, quicker recovery times, less scarring and blood loss. Dr. Rogers and his colleagues have also pioneered robotic surgery for smaller kidney tumors, allowing them to perform a partial nephrectomy to remove tumors that might otherwise require total kidney removal or a large open incision. While these procedures are considered revolutionary because they preserve the healthy portion of the kidney and shorten recovery time, they are not practical for patients with large tumors.

"I think this is going to be a big advance for having to remove the entire kidney because of large kidney tumors. This could be a great improvement over tradi
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