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JANUARY 2003

Weill Cornell Medical Advances:
First Robotic Urologic Surgery Done on Child in NYC
Edited by Herman Rosen, M.D.

Dr. Dix Poppas, Chief of Pediatric Urology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the first robotic urologic surgery on a child in New York City. The procedure was done to correct a congenital obstruction of the flow of urine from the kidney where it connects to the ureter. If left untreated, kidney damage will result. As many as 1 in 200 children are born with dilatation of the inside of the kidney mainly due to obstruction at the ureto-pelvic junction (UPJ). The traditional “open” operation for this condition leaves a large scar. Another surgical technique using laparoscopy sometimes presents difficulty in suturing the ureter. By contrast, robotic surgery is less invasive than the “open” procedure, has less postoperative pain and shorter hospital stays, and has the potential for higher success rates. The seven year-old patient operated on at Weill Cornell is recovering well after a three-day hospital stay.

UPJ obstruction is often detected before birth by abdominal ultrasound. It may become clinically significant in childhood with flank pain and altered kidney function.

Less than ten robotic pyeloplasties have been performed in the U.S.; the first was done at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2002. Adult robotic pyeloplasties were first done in 2001.#

 

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