Dipen Parekh, M.D., makes precise maneuvers with surgical instruments by moving hand instruments at a console.
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Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579

SAN ANTONIO (June 11, 2008) — Dipen Parekh, M.D., a urologic oncologist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, deftly operates the handles and pedals of a console located six feet away from his patient’s operating table. The handles and pedals control robotic arms positioned above the patient, Donald Martinez. Gripping sterile instruments, the robot mirrors Dr. Parekh’s micromovements with amazing precision to remove a tumor on Martinez’s kidney. Two days later, Martinez, a branch manager for a medical and compressed gas distributor, is already moving around his hospital room at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital-Medical Center.

“I had never been sick a day in my life,” Martinez, an active cyclist and swimmer, said. “I thank God and Dr. Parekh and the robot. You can’t live with cancer in your body.”

Dr. Parekh has performed more robot-assisted surgeries that remove tumors while sparing the kidney than anyone else in Texas’ major academic medical centers.

Bird’s-eye view

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The da Vinci® Surgical System, which CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health Care bought last year for $1.6 million, enables Dr. Parekh to view kidney, bladder and prostate cancers in three dimensions and at 10 times the magnification of traditional surgery. “It gives a remarkably clear view, which is important because we are trying to extract only the cancerous tissue and preserve the anatomy necessary for body functions,” he said. Dr. Parekh is one of the few fellowship-trained urologic oncologists in San Antonio.

Kidney, bladder and prostate cancers
An associate professor in the UT Health Science Center Department of Urology, Dr. Parekh has performed a large number of cases of robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to remove kidney, bladder and prostate cancers. In several cases, he has saved patients’ kidneys.

Less pain, quicker recovery
Conventional kidney surgery requires a 6- to 10-inch incision on the affected side and breaking at least one rib to allow surgical access. The kidney is supplied by several small blood vessels, and this makes removing the tumor while saving the rest of the kidney a challenge.

Thanks to the view on the console during robotic surgery, Dr. Parekh is able to leave blood vessels intact while removing tumors through three or four small keyhole incisions. This reduces pain, blood loss, scarring and risk of infection, and naturally shortens recovery time. Most patients are up and around in the hospital the next day and return to their regular activities in a few days.

Experience
According to Intuitive Surgical Inc., which tracks all surgeries using its da Vinci system, Dr. Parekh has performed more robot-assisted partial nephrectomies (removing a kidney tumor while sparing the organ) than anyone else in Texas’ major academic medical centers. He has performed the most robot-assisted cystectomies (surgeries for bladder cancer) of anyone in Texas, whether in an academic or private practice. Robot-assisted prostate surgery is performed in many centers.

Helping patients through technology
“We are very pleased to have someone with Dr. Parekh’s rare expertise performing this type of surgery at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital-Medical Center, and we are excited to offer such procedures to our patients,” Don Beeler, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health Care, said. “This is part of our strong commitment to provide the best medical technology possible for their care.” Dr. Parekh also performs these operations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Controlling cancer
Using the robotic approach enables Dr. Parekh to achieve at least the same level of cancer control as is possible with conventional surgery, he said. Other uses of the robotic system include gynecological, general and heart surgery.

Sharing the skills
Urology residents from the Health Science Center are also benefiting as Dr. Parekh teaches them how to use the system. In the future, more urologic oncologists such as Dr. Parekh will be able to perform surgery in this manner.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 23,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.