Cutting-edge treatments for kidney and prostate cancer

Cancerous tumors on the kidney once meant surgery to remove the kidney.

Now, doctors at Tulane University are performing cutting-edge treatments designed to preserve as much of a patient's healthy kidney tissue as possible.

Robotic partial nephrectomy is a procedure in which the surgeon utilizes a surgical robot to remove diseased tissue from the kidney while sparing healthy tissue. This is important because it could prevent the need for dialysis in the future if for any reason the patient should lose function in the second kidney.

“We're generally able to save 50 percent to 75 percent of the diseased kidney,” said Dr. Benjamin Lee, Tulane professor of urology and director of robotics, laparoscopy and endourology for Tulane Medical Center.

Although it is the most technically difficult procedure for kidney surgery, patients who undergo robotic partial nephrectomy typically experience smaller incisions, less pain, and shorter recovery periods than those who have open surgery. Lee has pioneered several innovative surgical techniques in the treatment of kidney and prostate cancer, and he is the author of more than 250 scientific manuscripts and abstracts. He has received awards for his research from the American Urological Association, the Endourological Society and the Journal of Urology .

Lee is available to talk about advances in minimally invasive surgery to treat cancer of the kidney and prostate.