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Home in Less than 24 Hours

Patients love getting home faster after robotic prostate cancer surgery

Published on August 31, 2021

Last updated 04:06 PM August 31, 2021

Surgery for prostate cancer has evolved, offering men with aggressive prostate cancer more treatment choices. One high-tech treatment is a robotic prostatectomy, where the prostate is removed robotically by a surgeon with specialized training.

Robotic prostate cancer surgery has several key advantages over the more traditional approach. It shortens the time spent in a facility following a surgery. This method also reduces surgery site blood loss, scarring and pain, and speeds up recovery as well as having the potential to preserve nerves.

“The robot allows us to see the prostate better and spare the nerves, which can preserve sexual function,” said Dr. Justin Watson, a urologist who performs robotic prostatectomies at Wellstar Kennestone Advanced Outpatient Center for Surgery in Marietta. Dr. Watson typically meets with patients in the Prostate Cancer STAT Clinic. This clinic allows men an opportunity to meet with multiple prostate cancer specialists on one day in one place so they can benefit from the most comprehensive care.

Read Steve Shelton's story, a man who had a robotic prostatectomy at Wellstar and is living life to his fullest today.

As we looked at the data and others showed it was safe, we learned how to enhance [our patients'] recovery so they would reliably be able to go home the same day.

- Dr. Justin Watson

Wellstar Urologist

Outpatient prostatectomy at Kennestone

While several Wellstar hospitals have offered robotic prostatectomies for a number of years, Wellstar is the first health system in metro Atlanta to offer the procedure at an outpatient surgery center.

“The patients love it,” Dr. Watson said. “One of our priorities is to enhance patient care and satisfaction. Patients are much happier to sleep in their own bed, eat their own food and watch their own television.”

He explained that when he began to offer robotic prostatectomies, patients would typically stay in the hospital for a day or two after surgery, which allowed them to go home a day earlier than what is typical for a traditional open prostatectomy. However, he noticed they often requested to go home much sooner, usually after walking the halls a few times the day of the surgery.

In 2019, Dr. Watson collaborated with Dr. Scott Miller – who performed the first robotic prostatectomy in the state – to make the procedure available to patients so they could go home sooner.

“As we looked at the data and others showed it was safe, we learned how to enhance their recovery so they would reliably be able to go home the same day,” Dr. Watson said.

Since he began to perform same-day prostatectomies in 2019, only about 10% of patients who have their surgery performed in the morning choose to stay overnight. Nearly all patients are able to be home in less than 24 hours.

Dr. Scott Miller, who serves as Wellstar’s director of Robotic Surgical Services, added, “What’s unique about Kennestone’s Outpatient Center is that it is attached to a hospital, so if a patient who was supposed to be outpatient needs to be admitted, there is a hospital with more complex care available right there.”

With advanced medical technology and expert care close to home, Wellstar is changing the way prostate cancer is treated.

Locations where patients can have a robotic prostatectomy

Talk to your urologist to learn more about treatment options for prostate cancer and whether a robotic prostatectomy may be right for you. Men with prostate cancer can have a robotic prostatectomy at Wellstar facilities, including:

Home in Less than 24 Hours

Patients love getting home faster after robotic prostate cancer surgery

Outpatient prostatectomy at Kennestone

Locations where patients can have a robotic prostatectomy

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