Mount Sinai is the First Academic Center in Northeast Region to Teach Robotically Guided Aquablation Therapy for Treatment of Enlarged Prostate
The Mount Sinai Hospital is the first academic center in the Northeast region to teach Aquablation® therapy—a robotically guided advanced new therapy and minimally invasive procedure used to treat enlarged prostates, a common condition technically known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The teaching program is being led by Steven A. Kaplan, MD, Professor of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Men's Wellness Program, Mount Sinai Health System.
More than 50 percent of all U.S. men age 60 years and over suffer from enlarged prostates, as do more than 90 percent of men age 85 and over. An enlarged prostate is a noncancerous condition but one that produces symptoms, including frequent urination, an inability to empty the bladder, the need to urinate during the night and loss of bladder control.
Aquablation therapy is performed by the AquaBeam® Surgical Robotic System, the first FDA-cleared, automated surgical robot for the treatment of BPH. It combines three key elements to remove tissue safely, efficiently and precisely: real-time, multidimensional imaging for improved decision-making and surgical planning; robotic execution for precision; and the power of a water jet—that is heat-free, thus avoiding thermal injuries.
“My patients have seen incredible success with this new procedure and it has significant advantages of conserving anatomical structures associated with both urine control and sexual function while also alleviating symptoms from enlarged prostates,” said Dr. Kaplan. “Mount Sinai is excited to not only offer this minimally invasive procedure to our patients with BPH but also to teach this revolutionary procedure to other surgeons around the country.”
The Aquablation therapy involves utilizing a cystoscope, a thin tube with a camera that is used to view the urethra and inside of the bladder, under anesthesia. That technology is integrated with an ultrasound to provide a three-dimensional view of the prostate. This information, provided in real time via computer software, allows for a surgeon to determine an optimal tissue removal plan, including visualizing and targeting enlarged and obstructive prostate tissue and determining with exact precision the position of urethral sphincters and ejaculation ducts critical to maintaining sexual function. Under this robotic procedure, water jets then sweep across the prostate, ablating bad tissue while avoiding the key anatomical structures.
Training sessions for will be conducted by Dr. Kaplan at The Mount Sinai Hospital through digital formats and in person sessions.
“Mount Sinai is extremely proud to be the first teaching Center in the Northeast training other surgeons how to perform this cutting edge procedure that will help so many men suffering from BPH,” said Dr. Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, Chair of Urology at the Mount Sinai Health System and the Kyung Hyun Kim, MD Professor of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The Department of Urology at the Mount Sinai Health System has one of the most robust robotic surgery programs in the country, with Dr. Tewari having performed more than 7,000 surgeries. Genomic testing and advanced imaging are routine for patients with prostate cancer, providing personalized and precise treatment protocols. Dr. Tewari and his team have performed thousands of MRI-guided fusion biopsies, have a very large cohort of active surveillance patients, and have been innovators in developing novel surgical techniques to optimize sexual function recovery and urinary continence.
Mount Sinai’s Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer at The Tisch Cancer Institute, under the leadership of Dr. Tewari, offers the most up-to-date diagnosis, management, and treatment approaches for prostate cancer. The team of world-renowned experts includes urologic, radiation, and medical oncologists, as well as impotence specialists, pathologists, radiologists, and oncology nurses. To learn more about the Center click here.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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