Overview

Kidney Cancer can form in the small tubes inside the kidney. Those tubes located in the center of the kidney where urine collects, are used to filter blood. Each year in the United States, kidney cancer is diagnosed in about 54,000 Americans and more than 13,000 do not survive the disease. 1 Kidney cancer is slightly more common in men and is usually diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 70 years. The most common kidney cancer is called renal cell carcinoma.

It is important to realize that with early diagnosis and treatment, kidney cancer can be cured. If found early, the survival rate for patients with kidney cancer ranges from 79 to 100 percent. 2

Treatment Options

Kidney cancer is fairly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. As a result, the gold standard treatment for localized kidney cancer is removal of the kidney or kidney tumors.

Kidney surgery is traditionally performed using an open approach, meaning doctors must make a large incision in the abdomen. Another approach is conventional laparoscopy. It is less invasive, but limits the doctor’s dexterity, vision and control, compared to open surgery.

da Vinci ® for Kidney Conditions

If your doctor recommends surgery for kidney cancer, you may be a candidate for a new, minimally invasive approach – da Vinci® Surgery. da Vinci Surgery uses state-of-the-art technology to help your doctor perform a more precise operation than conventional surgery. It offers several potential benefits over conventional open surgery, including:

  • Significantly less pain
  • Less blood loss
  • Fewer transfusions
  • Less risk of infection
  • Less scarring
  • Shorter hospital stay
  • Shorter recovery time
  • Increased potential for kidney preservation in certain prescribed cancer operations
  • Better clinical outcomes, in many cases

da Vinci Surgery for kidney cancer incorporates the best techniques of open surgery and applies them to a robotic-assisted, minimally invasive approach.

The precision and dexterity of the da Vinci Surgical System’s advanced instrumentation facilitates a minimally invasive approach for treating kidney cancer.

As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed, as surgery is patient and procedure specific.

* In Nephrectomy, one incision is enlarged for removal of the kidney.

1. “Cancer Facts & Figures 2008”, American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org , URL: http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/2008CAFFfinalsecured.pdf
2. ‘Kidney Cancer”, American Urological Association Foundation, www.urologyhealth.org , URL: http://www.urologyhealth.org/adult/index.cfm?cat=04&topic=124

While clinical studies support the effectiveness of the da Vinci® System when used in minimally invasive surgery, individual results may vary. Surgery with the da Vinci® Surgical System may not be appropriate for every individual. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits.

Content provided by Intuitive Surgical. For more information on this topic, please visit www.davincisurgery.com