December 8, 2004

Vanderbilt University Medical Center Hosts Live Web Cast of Robotic Surgery

On Wednesday, December 8, from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m. (CST) Vanderbilt University Medical Center is hosting a live web cast of a robotic prostate surgery.

On Wednesday, December 8, from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m. (CST) Vanderbilt University Medical Center is hosting a live web cast of a robotic prostate surgery. Viewers will be able to watch a critical portion of this state-of-the-art surgery as it happens, and have questions answered live during the procedure by the surgeon and a surgeon-moderator.

The surgical procedure, a robotically-assisted prostatectomy (prostate removal) is performed at only a small number of
U.S.
medical centers. The surgery, typically done for the removal of cancerous prostate disease, will be performed by Dr. Joseph A. Smith Jr., chairman of Vanderbilt’s Department of Urologic Surgery.

For patients who are suitable candidates, robotically-assisted prostate surgery allows Smith to offer patients a minimally-invasive, nerve-sparing procedure which produces outcomes favorable to conventional surgical methods with a greatly improved recovery time.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer, and is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among American men. According to the American Cancer Society this year over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and 29,000 men will die from the disease.

To view the live web cast, simply go Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s website at www.mc.vanderbilt.edu and click on the "View Live Internet Broadcast" tab located in the center of the page.

WHAT: Live Robotic Surgery Web Cast

WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 8, from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m. (CST)

WHERE: To view the procedure go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu

Contact: John Howser 615-322-4747

john.howser@vanderbilt.edu