More than 60,000 cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, and it claims the lives of about 15,000 people annually. “A lot of times, kidney cancer is diagnosed accidentally,” says Raj Laungani, M.D., director of minimally invasive surgery and robotic urology at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, “meaning it was found on an X-ray or a CT scan that was performed for some other reason.”

Dr. Laungani says the classic symptoms for kidney cancer are blood in the urine, chronic back pain or a mass. He says robotic surgery has greatly improved the treatment of kidney cancer. “With (the robot’s) dexterity, precision and 3-D magnification, we can safely, carefully and with amazing accuracy cut the tumor out, allowing the patient to have minimal blood loss, be discharged in two to three days and get more superior results than most traditional surgery,” he says.

Aside from surgical advances in treating kidney cancer, screening and radiological advances translate into better outcomes and survival for patients. “Nowadays, you go to any local ER with abdominal pain, they will do a CT scan,” says Dr. Laungani. “And a lot of times, this is how these cancers are found early, giving patients a chance for a cure and a long, happy life.

Adding that to newer technology and surgical procedures, patients’ overall recovery, hospital course and treatment for cancer is much smoother and much easier.” For more information, visit Piedmont Robotic Surgery.

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