Robotic Bladder Surgery

Robotic bladder surgery is performed for a number of indications, both benign and malignant.

The most common indication for robotic bladder surgery is for removal of the entire bladder in patients with invasive bladder cancer.

When bladder cancer has invaded the wall (muscle) of the bladder, then radical treatment in the form of surgery or radiation is required to eradicate the cancer.

At Sydney Urology Group we offer robotic surgery for men and women diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer, or for bladder cancer that has not responded to other treatment options (e.g. intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin or intravesical chemotherapy).

All aspects of the surgical procedure can be performed minimally invasively with the da Vinci Xi robot. These surgical steps include bladder removal (cystectomy), lymph node dissection and formation of the urinary diversion (ileal conduit or neobladder)

In select patients with small, muscle invasive bladder tumours, which are localised and involving a suitable part of the bladder (e.g. bladder dome or diverticulum) then less radical surgery can be performed. This is called robotic partial cystectomy or robotic diverticulectomy where only part of the bladder and/or diverticulum are removed, thus maintaining relatively normal bladder function, and avoiding the need for a urinary diversion.

Occasionally robotic bladder surgery is performed for benign conditions, the most common being robotic diverticulectomy in men with a very large, symptomatic diverticulum, most often the result of bladder outlet obstruction from an enlarged, benign prostate.