Bladder cancer is a malignant growth in cells that line your bladder. More than 67,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. every year. If you’re diagnosed with bladder cancer, your physician will likely recommend a cystectomy – a surgery that removes all or part of your bladder and any nearby lymph nodes that may contain cancer.

If your bladder is removed, your surgeon will create a new way for urine to leave your body. In some cases, a urinary diversion is performed to create a new way to for the body to store and pass urine.

If your gallbladder is dysfunctional or you have gall stones causing pain, nausea and vomiting – or that keep you from eating certain foods – your doctor will likely recommend gallbladder removal.

CoxHealth was the first hospital in southwest Missouri to perform a gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) using single-site robotic surgery. This surgery requires a small one-inch incision in your belly button, which leaves virtually no scar. Robotic gallbladder removal offers several benefits, which can include minimal pain, low blood loss, quick recovery and a short hospital stay.

A hysterectomy is surgery to remove a woman's uterus, the organ in a woman's belly where a baby grows during pregnancy. If you need a hysterectomy, the reason is likely benign. Common conditions that lead to hysterectomies are non-cancerous fibroid tumors, heavy periods and bleeding, cramping, pelvic pain, and endometriosis.

After a hysterectomy, you won’t be able to get pregnant. Other organs might also be removed if you have severe problems such as endometriosis or cancer.

The type of hysterectomy you have will depend on your diagnosis:

• Supracervical hysterectomy: removes the uterus, leaves cervix intact
• Total hysterectomy: removes the uterus and cervix
• Radical hysterectomy or modified radical hysterectomy: a more extensive surgery for gynecologic cancer that includes removing the uterus and cervix and may also remove part of the vagina, fallopian tubes ovaries and lymph nodes in order to determine how far cancer has spread.

Traditionally, hysterectomies have been performed in “open” procedures through a 6-12 inch incision, or by removing the uterus through the vagina, with no external incisions. This approach is most often used if you have a benign condition, if your uterus is a normal size and if your condition is limited to your uterus.

Robotic surgery is the latest approach to a hysterectomy. A robotic hysterectomy typically results in less pain, less blood loss and scarring, a shorter hospital stay and a faster return to normal activities. Robotic surgery is also used to dissect and remove lymph nodes during cancer operations.

If you require a radical hysterectomy, robotic surgery allows your surgeon to treat early-stage endometrial cancer minimally invasively and perform precise and comprehensive dissections. Other benefits include more precise cancer staging and better access to remove any lymph nodes.

Talk to your physician to determine if you might be a candidate for robotic surgery. 

The kidneys are two small organs located behind your abdomen, on each side of your spine. By producing urine, kidneys remove toxic by-products and excess fluids from your body, which helps maintain a critical balance of salt, potassium and acid.

A common condition affecting the kidneys is blockage of the ureters, the tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Blockage here can be present from birth or acquired through illness or injury, and can create serious side effects such as infections and kidney stones. If left untreated, blockages can cause chronic pain and may damage the kidney over time. These conditions can usually be treated by removing the blockage; depending on the type of blockage, surgery may be required.

Cancer can also affect the kidneys by forming in the small tubes inside your kidney, or in the center of your kidney where urine collects. Kidney cancer is relatively resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. As a result, the best treatment for localized kidney cancer is removal of the kidney or kidney tumors. Kidney surgery can be performed using an open approach, laparoscopy or robotic surgery.

If you’ve received an early diagnosis of prostate cancer, you likely have a range of treatment options. These may include conservative management, radiation therapy, cryosurgery and prostatectomy, which is the surgical removal of your prostate. Your treatment options will depend on a number of factors, including the stage of the disease, your age and health, and your personal preference.

The goal of treatment is to remove all the cancer. Sometimes that means removing your prostate and the tissues around it, including a set of nerves to the penis that affect your ability to have an erection. Some tumors can be removed using a nerve-sparing technique, which means carefully cutting around those nerves to leave them intact. Nerve-sparing surgery sometimes preserves your ability to have an erection.

A number of other conditions and illnesses can require urologic surgery. These conditions can include prostate cancer, ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction, bladder and kidney cancer, and vesicoureteral reflux.

For many patients, robotic surgery is an excellent treatment option. Talk to your doctor to learn more. 

If your doctor recommends surgery to treat uterine fibroids, you may be a candidate for a robotic myomectomy.

Prolapse (or falling) of any pelvic floor organ (vagina, uterus, bladder or rectum) occurs when the connective tissues or muscles are weak and unable to hold your pelvis in its natural position.

This weakening occurs with age, after child birth, with weight gain and strenuous physical labor. Women experiencing pelvic organ prolapse typically have problems with urinary incontinence, vaginal ulceration, sexual dysfunction and having bowel movements. 

Sacrocolpopexy is a procedure to surgically correct vaginal vault prolapse where mesh is used to hold the vagina in the correct anatomical position. This procedure can also be performed following a hysterectomy to treat uterine prolapse and provide long-term support of your vagina. Sacrocolpopexy has traditionally been performed as an open surgery, but now it is available as a robotic procedure.

If your physician recommends sacrocolpopexy, ask if you are a candidate for robotic surgery. Robotic procedures typically offer smaller incisions, less blood loss, shorter hospital stays and quicker recoveries. 

CoxHealth surgeons offer minimally invasive robotic surgery as an option to treat rectal cancer.

Rectal cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the rectum, a part of your digestive system.  Surgery is the most common treatment for all stages of rectal cancer. The cancer is removed using one of the following types of surgery:

Polypectomy: If the cancer is found in a polyp (a small piece of bulging tissue), the polyp is often removed during a colonoscopy.

Cryosurgery: A treatment that uses an instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue, such as carcinoma in situ. This type of treatment is also called cryotherapy.

Local excision: If the cancer is found on the inside surface of the rectum and has not spread into the wall of your rectum, the cancer and a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue is removed.

Resection: If the cancer has spread into the wall of the rectum, the section of the rectum with cancer and nearby healthy tissue is removed. Sometimes the tissue between your rectum and your abdominal wall is also removed. The lymph nodes near your rectum are removed and checked under a microscope for signs of cancer.

Radiofrequency ablation: The use of a special probe with tiny electrodes that kill cancer cells. Sometimes the probe is inserted directly through your skin and only local anesthesia is needed. In other cases, the probe is inserted through an incision in the abdomen. This is done in the hospital with general anesthesia.

Pelvic exenteration: If the cancer has spread to other organs near your rectum, the lower colon, rectum, and bladder are removed. In women, the cervix, vagina, ovaries and nearby lymph nodes may be removed. In men, the prostate may be removed. Artificial openings  are made for urine and stool to flow from your body to a collection bag.

If you’ve been diagnosed with rectal cancer, ask you physician if you’re a candidate for robotic surgery. Robotic procedures use small incisions and typically offer less blood loss, shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries. 

CoxHealth surgeons offer minimally invasive robotic surgery as an option to repair rectal prolapse.

Rectal prolapse occurs when loose tissue near the end of your large intestine (rectum) slides downward. The tissue may partially or completely protrude from your anus.

There are three types of rectal prolapse:

Partial prolapse (also called mucosal prolapse). Only the lining (mucous membrane) of the rectum slides downward and usually comes out of the anus only when your strain to have a bowel movement. Partial prolapse is most common in children younger than 2. A partial prolapse may sometimes be confused with hemorrhoids.

Internal prolapse (intussusception). One part of the wall of the large intestine (colon) or rectum may slide into or over another part of your rectum, like the folding parts of a toy telescope. The rectum does not protrude outside the anus. Intussusception is most common in children and rarely affects adults. In children, the cause is usually not known. In adults, it’s usually related to another intestinal problem.

Complete prolapse. A segment of the wall of the rectum slides down and protrudes from your anus. In the beginning, this may occur only during a bowel movement. In later stages, the prolapse may occur when you stand or walk, or may remain outside your body all the time.

Rectal prolapse is most common in young children and older female adults. Although many conditions increase the risk for rectal prolapse, it’s often difficult to find the exact cause.

Most cases of rectal prolapse can be corrected with robotic surgery. Ask your physician if this procedure may be the right treatment for you.