A prostate cancer patient and winner of 28 Grand Slam titles, Roy Emerson, tells his story about his robotic prostatectomy in December. It takes a specialist like David B. Samadi, M.D., to get the most out of what the da Vinci surgical system offers.

Not to say that we never talked over chemotherapy or radiation, but to my mind surgery always seemed to be my best alternative. I concluded that robotic assisted prostatectomy using the da Vinci system was my only choice.

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 12, 2007 -- Prostate cancer is the (second) most common cancer diagnosed in American men, in fact there are over 220,000 new diagnoses each year. Roughly half of these men will weigh their options and consider an open radical prostatectomy, a surgery requiring removal of the prostate gland using a large midline incision. The advent of the da Vinci robotic prostatectomy is changing all of that. But, technology is only half the battle. A prostate cancer patient and winner of 28 Grand Slam titles, Roy Emerson, tells his story about his robotic prostatectomy in December. It takes a specialist like David B. Samadi, M.D., to get the most out of what the da Vinci surgical system offers.



Roy became one of the 220,000 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006. During a routine annual physical, his doctor noted an elevated PSA level and subsequently under went trans-rectal ultrasound biopsy of his prostate. Following this news, his prostate biopsy revealed Adenocarcinoma of prostate. He found himself in the position of having to choose the most minimally invasive procedure for prostate cancer and the most experienced surgeon available.

"I had a series of discussions with my family, my regular physician, two separate urologists and finally an oncologist …phrases like nerve sparing, minimally invasive, da Vinci system, and robotic-assisted kept popping up," he said. "Not to say that we never talked over chemotherapy or radiation, but to my mind surgery always seemed to be my best alternative. I concluded that robotic assisted prostatectomy using the da Vinci system was my only choice."

Of course, technology was only one factor in Roy's decision-making process, but as state-of-the-art technology goes the da Vinci Surgical System is impressive. The surgical robot offers a precise 3-D view of the prostate and the surrounding tissue and offers improved robotic dexterity. Using the da Vinci robot, surgeons make five keyhole-sized openings instead of the single six-inch incision involved with traditional open prostatectomies. Da Vinci prostatectomy results in less blood loss, less nerve damage, less pain, shorter hospital stays and faster catheter removal in comparison with open surgery. For this reason, robotic prostate surgery is sometimes called to as bloodless prostate surgery.

Like anything else though, the right tools are only half the battle and da Vinci Robot or not, having the right surgeon performing the procedure is as critical. Roy was lucky enough to be referred to one, but he also took matters into his own hands.

"The hardest part was making the decision. Playing Davis Cup Tennis was a piece of cake - but when your life is on the line it's another matter." The oncologist I consulted recommended both the da Vinci system and a Doctor in New York …David B. Samadi. I was impressed by the fact that Dr. Samadi is trained in open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgery. It's like having three surgeons in one head. Also, that he has trained over 50 robotic urologic surgeons in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and nationwide. Dr. Samadi studied in France with da Vinci Robotic pioneer, Claude Abbou, M.D " Emerson said.

"My wife Joy and I live in California and I flew out to New York to have the surgery performed on December 15, 2006. I entered the operating room at 8:00 A.M., and was in the recovery room by 9:30 A.M. and was discharged from the hospital by lunch the next day. My recovery has been amazing and I was back on the court again in five weeks, hitting lightly. Fortunately, my PSA is zero now. Dr Samadi is a true life saver and I am convinced that choosing him was the best decision I have ever made. I owe him one!"

About Dr. David Samadi & RoboticOncology.com

David B. Samadi, M.D., is Director of Robotic Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He is a board certified Urologic Oncologist, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder, kidney, and prostate cancer using minimally invasive procedures like da Vinci robotic assisted surgery. If you would like more information about Dr. Samadi's state-of-the-art treatment options, including the robotic prostatectomy, please don't hesitate to call his office at 212-305-9722 - or visit him on the web at http://www.roboticoncology.com.

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