The next time Dr. Isaac Yi Kim operates on a patient with prostate cancer, he may never pick up a scalpel.
Kim joined the Division of Urology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Division of Urological Oncology of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey as a specialist in minimally invasive surgery.
He brings expertise to the hospital in a robotic surgical treatment for prostate cancer - the da Vinci robotic surgical system, according to the hospital's spokesperson. Kim will work alongside a team of surgeons already trained in the device at the hospital.
The da Vinci system - a $1.5 million device manufactured by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. - is a remote-controlled robotic surgical system that uses miniature instruments to make five small openings in a patient's abdomen to perform cancer surgery.
Traditionally, prostate cancer patients required an open prostatectomy - a procedure that involves making a six-inch incision in a patient's abdomen that may result in impotence and incontinence.
The surgeon operates the da Vinci system with a separate 3-D console to maneuver the robotic surgical arms, which make the incisions.
This results in "less pain, minimized scarring and quicker recovery," Kim said.
A prostatectomy normally results in a three- to five- day hospital stay as well as catheterization for up to three weeks.
After a da Vinci surgery, however, patients may leave the hospital after two days and stop catheterization after a week.
Kim said surgery with the da Vinci system has both easier and more difficult aspects than traditional methods.
"Da Vinci is not the easiest - it is more difficult than open surgery," Kim said. "But the 10x magnification really brings anatomic details to life."
"Like any new technology, we surgeons must embrace this because it really is better for the patients," he said
Kim said the risks aren't any greater than with traditional surgery, and that risk for blood loss that would necessitate transfusions is actually reduced.
"As with any surgery, the surgeon should have appropriate training," he said. "But the risks here shouldn't be greater than with any other new technology."
Patient feedback has been positive, Kim said.
"At [the University of California at] Irvine, where I trained, we had patients flying in from all over the world to get this done," he said. "Patients are seeking out surgeons who offer this technology."
Prostate cancer is currently the most common form of cancer in men with 220,000 new cases a year. Approximately half of patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer undergo a prostatectomy.
The da Vinci system targets these patients as ideal candidates for the robotic surgery.
RWJUH currently uses the da Vinci system for cardiac and urologic procedures, and it's one of only two hospitals in New Jersey designated to teach other surgeons how to use the robotic system.
Dr. Jonathan Hwang, director of Robotic/Laparoscopic and Minimally Invasive Urology at RWJUH, said the hospital may expand the role of da Vinci in the future.
"There are no specific plans to hire more surgeons to use the da Vinci at this point," Hwang said. "But the hospital is upgrading the system so that it can be used for other specialties, possibly gynecologic operations."
Hwang said in a statement, "Already about a third of surgeries for prostate cancer are performed with da Vinci and we anticipate that will grow to 90 percent over the next few years. This creates more of a need for surgeons with expertise in robotics, like Dr. Kim."
Kim has also been appointed assistant professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and its Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
- Rohan Mathew
contributed to this story
Be the first to comment on this article!