FAST Kidney Cancer Surgery: More Good News!

It's been a little over a year since I first wrote here about our revolutionary FAST partial nephrectomy procedure, where steps usually performed by a surgical assistant are now incorporated into the robotic process – and I now have even more exciting news to share!

In a study published in the Journal of Endourology (June 2012), my colleagues and I confirmed that FAST – which, as you may recall, stands for "first assistant sparing technique" – reduces the time in which the kidney is without blood flow (called the "warm ischemia time") by almost 25 percent. In fact, we were able to cut warm ischemia time to an average of 15 minutes for most tumor surgery, and 18 minutes for more complicated tumors. So not only does FAST achieve the same results as standard robotic partial nephrectomy surgery, but it takes much less time – regardless of the tumor size, location, or complexity.

What does this mean for you or your loved one? Since blood flow is cut off from the kidney for less time using FAST, it's better for the patient, better for recovery, and achieves the same result: cancer removal.

We're constantly trying to improve what we're doing and hope to continue to further refine our surgery offerings going forward. Another advancement in this procedure is the use of immunofluorescence imaging during FAST partial nephrectomy. This allows us to perform "selective arterial clamping," which means that we can identify and isolate only the smaller artery that feeds the tumor and maintain blood flow to the rest of the kidney during the surgery. In these instances, there is ZERO warm ischemia time! Our ability to perform this technique is based on tumor location and some other factors, and during review of the CT or MRI, we can make that determination.

Don't hesitate to contact me at (212) 305-9722 if you have more questions about FAST robotic partial nephrectomy or are considering whether it’s the right procedure for you or someone close to you. 

The FAST Kidney Cancer Cure

I'm thrilled to introduce my new technique for robotic kidney cancer surgery: the FAST robotic partial nephrectomy. FAST is an acronym for "first assistant sparing technique," and while that may not sound all that exciting, it really is! Allow me to explain.

What I've done with my team at the NYC Robotic Institute is figure out how to cut out the "middle man" in this robotic procedure. Historically robotic surgeries involve the surgeon himself, plus any number of assistants that are called on to carry out parts of the operation. In a FAST robotic partial nephrectomy, the robotic surgeon never leaves the controls. I've taken certain steps out of the hands of the assistant, and put them back into the hands of the surgeon. That shaves minutes off the procedure and reduces the amount of time in which bloodflow to the kidney is stopped (ischemia time). If you have kidney cancer, that's better for your kidney, and better for you.

The robotic partial nephrectomy is already quite an advancement from the days when the entire kidney was removed to remove a tumor, and a FAST robotic partial nephrectomy is another milestone in curing cancer while preserving as much of the healthy, functioning kidney as possible.

If you or your loved one has kidney cancer, call us at (212) 305-0114 to discuss whether the FAST robotic partial nephrectomy can help.

The New Standard

In a mere 9 years, robotic prostatectomy will constitute over 75% of all radical prostatectomy procedures performed in the United States. That's why I wrote the first patient guide to this surgery and spend as much time as I can speaking to the media about this topic. Why is this method taking over?

1. It's nearly bloodless.
2. The recovery is incredibly fast and almost painless. (That tonsilectomy you had as a kid was probably MUCH worse.)
3. We've developed ways to spare the nerves that impact sexual function and urinary control. That means most men will be sexually active and fully continent more quickly than they would with traditional surgery.

The radical prostatectomy beats the cancer, and the precise robotic surgical technique speeds the recovery. It's the one-two punch I'd recommend to anyone battling prostate cancer, including my own friends and family.