Our team of urology specialists uses the latest technology, including minimally invasive and surgical robotic techniques, to perform complex procedures and promote a faster recovery time for patients. We care for adults and children with conditions affecting the male and female urinary tract system and male reproductive organs. We have been internationally recognized for offering bloodless surgery to people for whom blood transfusions are not an option.
We offer a comprehensive approach to treating urologic diseases and conditions. Our urologic oncology specialists have the expertise to treat cancers of the kidney, bladder and prostate, and adrenal tumors. Urologists also treat benign conditions like kidney stones and overactive bladder. Using advanced technologies, including robotic surgery, our team uses the least invasive approach possible to preserve as much healthy tissue as we can to provide relief and improve your quality of life.
If your doctor has told you that medication or another nonsurgical therapy is not enough to take care of a urologic disease or disorder, surgery may be the next option. Our robotic urologic surgery program is a place to start for a first or second opinion. This type of specialized surgery uses computer-assisted technology, which allows surgeons to use minimally invasive techniques for general and complex surgeries. This allows us to be more accurate and precise, which leads to better results for patients.
Many urologic surgical procedures can be safety done with robotic minimally invasive surgery, which has transformed the way we care for people with tumors of the prostate, bladder and kidneys, disorders of the adrenal glands, and blockages that disrupt the flow of urine. The robotic urology team has experience and advanced skills performing robotic procedures including:
Smaller incisions = faster recovery
When you have robotic surgery, the robot does not do the operation by itself. Your surgeon still performs the procedure, operating the robot’s arms and tools from a console. Using the robot, your surgeon has a magnified view of the inside of your body, with better ability to see tiny structures such as nerves and blood vessels thereby reducing the risk of damaging delicate anatomy. The robot’s tools also allow the surgeon to work with greater precision and skill.
Robotic surgery may offer the following benefits:
Preserving your kidney function
If you need a kidney operation, robotic surgery may help preserve your kidney function. With conventional kidney surgery, the blood vessels supplying the entire kidney are clamped. This reduces blood flow to healthy tissue and raises the risk of reduced kidney function after surgery.
We were among the first to use the Firefly fluorescence imaging system to map the vessels supplying blood to a kidney tumor, right in the operating room. This system enables our surgeons to often clamp only those vessels that supply the tumor while allowing oxygen-rich blood to continue to flow to the rest of your healthy kidney tissue through the unclamped vessels and helping your kidney to continue to function after surgery.
We use minimally invasive procedures or robotic surgery to perform a partial or complete adrenalectomy, removal of one or both adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands produce several hormones, including cortisol, which can lead to primary and secondary cancer. Adrenal tumors can cause a variety of symptoms that can reduce your quality of life. Adrenalectomy may be required to stop the spread of the cancer. Our specialists team up with oncologists, radiologists, and surgeons to provide thorough and comprehensive treatment of cancers affecting the urologic system. For more information about our cancer services, please visit our Cancer Treatment and Wellness page.
If you’ve learned you have bladder cancer and need surgery, you may be able to have a minimally invasive operation using a surgical robot. Our urologic surgeons perform robotic surgery to remove part or all of the bladder, as needed, in people with bladder cancer. If chemotherapy or radiation therapy is part of your treatment plan, we have teams delivering those therapies, too — all in one location for your convenience. For more information about our cancer services, please visit our Cancer Treatment and Wellness page.
We offer minimally invasive procedures for people with kidney cancer who need surgery. We use a surgical robot that spares the normal kidney know as robotic partial nephrectomy in which pat of one kidney is removed. For more information about our cancer services, please visit our Cancer Treatment and Wellness page.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in America and can be treated in a variety of ways, depending on whether it was detected early or is advanced. We offer robotic surgery for prostatectomy—this minimally invasive approach gets you back on your feet sooner than conventional surgery. If chemotherapy or radiation therapy is part of your treatment plan, we have teams delivering those therapies, too — all in one location for your convenience. For more information about our cancer services, please visit our Cancer Treatment and Wellness page.
Our urologic specialists treat a variety of benign conditions using cutting-edge technology to provide relief and improve quality of life.
Enlarged prostate
If you have a benign enlarged prostate and are not feeling better with medication alone, surgery may be your next step. Our urologic surgeons provide a full evaluation to determine whether patients are eligible for minimally invasive procedures. Some patients may only require partial removal of the prostate to relieve symptoms. This can be done through minimally invasive prostate resection, which can improve the flow of urine. For some patients with very enlarged prostates where traditional minimally invasive surgery is not possible, we use robotics to perform a simple prostatectomy. Compared to the open procedure there is less blood loss, decrease hospital stay and decrease time required with a catheter and gets you back on your feet sooner than open surgery.
Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is common. While there are a variety of medications to treat erectile dysfunction, about a third of men don’t respond well to these drugs. Our urologists offer penile implantation — a life-changing procedure that can restore your self-esteem and improve your quality of life. For some, having a penile prosthesis implanted is the only way to restore the ability to have a spontaneous erection. Our urologists match the prosthesis to your needs and complete the operation in a one-time outpatient surgical procedure. There are no effects of the prosthesis on your urinary control and sensation.
Kidney stones
We offer treatment for kidney stones. While these solid, pebble-like materials usually pass out of the body without medical assistance, sometimes these stones get stuck in the urinary tract and can block the flow of urine and cause pain. We treat kidney stones using shock waves to break about the material, a stent placed in the ureter to allow the stone to pass during urination, or with minimally invasive surgery.
Overactive bladder or fecal incontinence
If you suffer from overactive bladder, known as urge incontinence, where you have a strong, sudden need to urinate, or fecal incontinence, in which you have difficulty controlling bowel movements, our specialists can help. We provide you with a long-term care plan to treat your incontinence and restore your quality of life.
Urethral stricture
We offer treatment for urethral stricture, an abnormal narrowing of the tube that carries urine out of the body from the bladder. Urethral stricture may be caused by inflammation or scar tissue from surgery, disease, or injury. Rarely, it may be caused by pressure from a growing tumor near the urethra.
Urologic conditions that affect children, like urinary tract abnormalities, may require surgery. We offer expertise in pediatric robotic surgery of the kidney and ureter, including genital surgery and urinary tract reconstruction.
Englewood Health is focused on clinical trials and research targeting effective treatments, risk of recurrence, and survival outcomes for people with kidney and prostate cancers, among others. For more information on active clinical trials at Englewood Hospital visit the Clinical Research Center page.
Englewood Health offers ongoing support services for people living with cancer. Our facilitator listens to you and educates you about services specifically available for you, such as integrative medicine, stress management, support groups, and more. We can also connect you with useful resources in your community that address finances, transportation, emotional support, and other needs. For more information on support services, please visit our Cancer Treatment and Wellness page.