NETCARE LIMITED Groundbreaking robotic-assisted surgery performed on bladder cancer patient
Thursday, 26 November 2015 'You think cancer is something other people get, so when I was diagnosed with bladder cancer a month ago it certainly came as a great shock to my family and I. Suddenly you become aware of just how precious life is and I found myself forced to my knees.'
So said 64-year-old Jacob Venter from Witbank, who underwent successful robotic-assisted surgery to remove his bladder, prostate gland and pelvic lymph nodes. The procedure to treat the highly aggressive cancer was done by urologist Dr Johan Venter at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital in Midrand.
Urologist, Dr Johan Venter with Mr Jacob Venter, before the groundbreaking robotic-assisted surgery at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital to remove his bladder, prostate gland and pelvic lymph nodes.
Speaking during 'Movember', CANSA Men's Health Awareness Month, and just a few days after the surgery, the attorney and father of three added that he was feeling so much better and glad to be alive. 'I am grateful that I was able to have this procedure which has given me hope for the future.'
'I saw a television news insert on Dr Venter using this new robotic-assisted technology and hoped that it might be a viable treatment option in my case too. As it turned out, Dr Venter has been a godsend and I am already feeling much stronger.'
Dr Venter, who practises at Netcare Pretoria East Hospital and is an accredited da Vinci robotic surgeon, says that Mr Venter's case was an extremely complex one. 'He not only had an advanced
high grade cancer of the bladder, but also a large abdominal aortic aneurysm, a dangerous abnormal dilated major blood vessel in the abdomen supplying the organs and lower extremities.'
'In consultation with the patient's vascular surgeon, we felt it necessary to treat the cancer first. As the patient had a very aggressive bladder cancer we had to surgically remove the bladder, prostate and pelvic lymph nodes. This was successfully done using the da Vinci Si technology at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital.'
'I am delighted that Mr Venter has recovered rapidly and is doing well. Once we are sure he is strong enough, his aneurysm will be operated on at Netcare Unitas Hospital in Pretoria, most probably in a few weeks time. It is not yet clear whether he will require further treatment for the cancer in future but are hopeful we have removed it all. Tests after the procedure showed that the cancer was localised and had not spread past the bladder.'
'Among the many advantages of using the robotic-assisted surgical system is that it is done through tiny punctures in the skin and does not involve large surgical incisions,' explains Dr Venter. 'This means that the operation is less traumatic to the patient, there is less blood loss and it poses less risk of complications than traditional open surgery. The patient was soon back on his feet and able to go home just three days after the procedure.'
'This is of particular importance in a case such as this, in which the patient was at high risk of developing complications because his health was so compromised. Using the da Vinci Si technology allowed Mr Venter to recover quickly and should enable the vascular surgeon to operate on him sooner for his life-threatening aneurysm.'
After the removal of the bladder and other organs, Dr Venter and his team went on to perform a highly intricate Brickers Ileostomy in which ureters are implanted into an isolated piece of small bowel. The one end of the bowel is closed up and the other end is brought out via an exit through the skin, a stoma, through which the urine can drain into a stoma bag.
According to Jacques du Plessis, managing director of the Netcare hospital division, this is the first time that this kind of procedure has been completed in the Netcare da Vinci Si robotic programme, which has been running since mid-2014.
'Urologists participating in the Netcare da Vinci robotic programme initially focused on performing prostatectomies, a intricate procedure undertaken to remove the prostate gland to treat localised cancer. Close on 260 of these operations have already been performed to date at Netcare Waterfall City and Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town, where da Vinci equipment has been installed. It was always our intention to use also this versatile state-of-the-art technology, which enables surgeons to perform surgery much more accurately, for other applications in urology and gynaecology.'
According to Du Plessis the da Vinci Si system's robotic arms and high-definition 3-D visualisation technology allow surgeons far greater control in a range of complex surgeries. The da Vinci system at Netcare Waterfall City Hospital has already been used by urologist Dr Marius Conradie to perform South Africa's first robotic-assisted nephrectomy, the surgical removal of a kidney, earlier this year and urologists who form part of the Netcare programme are constantly breaking new ground with this technology. A third da Vinci system will soon been installed at Netcare Umhlanga Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
Dr Venter says Netcare's da Vinci programme has been tremendously exciting for them as urologists. 'It has provided us with a cutting-edge tool in the fight against diseases such as cancer and given South Africans access to an important new treatment option.'
The patient conveyed his thanks to the surgical teams and the staff at Netcare Pretoria East Hospital, where he was initially admitted, and Netcare Waterfall City hospitals. 'I am truly fortunate to have received the care that I have. The doctors have been so professional, and the nursing staff have been outstanding. You are not just a patient at these hospitals; they make you feel like an important and vital human being,' concluded Mr Venter.
Ends
Issued by: Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of Netcare
Contact: Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Meggan Saville, Thomas Hartleb and Deveroux Morkel
Telephone: (011) 469 3016
Email: martina@mnapr.co.za, graeme@mnapr.co.za, meggan@mnapr.co.za, thomas@mnapr.co.za and deveroux@mnapr.co.za
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