Robotic Cancer

Domenico Savatta, M.D.

Chief Of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Adult Urologic Surgery

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center- Newark, NJ

1st robotic urologic training course instructor on the daVinci S robot in the northeast

Dr. Savatta's Robotic Surgery has been performed at Newark Beth Israel exclusively until June of 2007.  He is currently performing robotic surgery at Saint Barnabas Medical Canter in Livingston, NJ and at Saint Clares Hospital in Denville, NJ.

A summary of the most important information is recorded on this page and you can download Dr. Savatta's dvP packet for more complete instructions.

A friend and experienced robotic surgeon in San Diego also has a wealth of knowledge on prostate cancer and davinci prostatetcomy on his web site: www.dryew.com. 

What you need to do to get ready for surgery

Our office will arrange for you to have pre-op testing, which includes blood work, an EKG, and a chest X-ray.  We will call your primary care doctor to schedule you for medical clearance.  This should be done within 30 days of surgery. 

Kegel exercises

Start performing Kegel exercises prior to surgery.  Perform them until you are comfortable with the correct muscles to tighten.  This will provide you with the quickest return of urinary control after surgery.

The day before surgery

You’ll need to maintain a strict liquid diet, such as chicken broth or an ensure nutritional drink.  If you have a high risk surgery you'll also need to drink a half bottle of either Magnesium Citrate or Fleet Phosphosoda.  This will allow for the surgery to be performed safer for some patients. 

Day of surgery

Your surgeon will meet you in the preoperative area.

You will meet the anesthesiologist and have a chance to ask any questions.

Surgery takes from 1  to 4 hours on the robot once you are asleep with an additional 30-60 minutes to set up.  About 45 minutes to 2 hours is to remove the prostate.  20-30 minutes are spent removing the lymph nodes.  20-30 minutes is spent reconstructing the pelvic anatomy which we expect to lead to a quicker return of continence.

There is a family waiting room on the surgical floor for loved ones to wait.

Your surgeon will speak to your family as soon as surgery is finished and answer questions.

Recovery room:

You will spend a few hours in the recovery room.  Your family will be allowed to visit in the recovery room (at Beth Israel)..

You will have a catheter in place after surgery and possibly a drain.  The small incisions will have a surgical glue that will dissolve.  You should be able to drink as soon as you are alert enough.

Hospital stay:

You will be given an instrument to help you take deep breaths and will get out of bed the first evening.

You should be able to eat regular food the day following surgery.

Most patients can go home the next day with the catheter in place.

You will be given a stool softener and non-narcotic pain pills to go home.

Pathology Report

Your prostate will be analyzed within a few days. We will discuss the pathology either on the telephone or at your first visit.

Followup

Your first visit will be in 3-8 days when you will likely have the catheter removed.  You may have X-rays to ensure that you are healed enough to remove the catheter, but recently most patients do not need this.

You will then be seen at 1 month for a checkup, and then every 3 months for the first year and less often after that based on your specific condition.

The first PSA is obtained at 1 month and then every 3 months for 2 years. A very low PSA means that the cancer has not returned.

To allow us to take better care of you and to allow us to collect information about our patient outcomes, you will be asked to fill out quality of life questionnaires at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

There will also be a AUA symptom score questionnaire at 3 and 12 months.  If you are having erections, we will assess them with a SHIM form. 

 

Contact Dr. Savatta

Dr. Savatta has performed over 300 daVinci Robotic Prostatectomies and almost 400 Robotic operations

Dr. Savatta's Hospitals for Robotic Surgery