Pediatric Robotic Urology Surgery

Treating Urologic Conditions with Pediatric Robotic Urologic Surgery

When surgery is needed, our experts at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital perform robotic-assisted and minimally invasive procedures to treat a full range of pediatric urological conditions.

Meet our pediatric urology team

Robotic-assisted urologic surgery offers the same precision of traditional open surgery and the shorter recovery time of minimally invasive surgery. The surgery is available for a variety of complex urological procedures for children.

The Robotic Urologic Surgery Process

Comer Children's uses the da Vinci Surgical System for all robotic surgeries. During a robotic surgery, the patient is in a standard operating room with surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses. Robotic surgery uses a robot with arms that hold surgery instruments and a camera. A surgeon controls the instruments that go into 2 to 3 small incisions (cuts). This lets them see more and move more in the body.

Types of Pediatric Urology Procedures

Not all pediatric urologic surgeries can use robotics. It depends on the kind of surgery and the patient. Your doctor will talk with you about your care plan and the kind of surgery that is best for your child.

Surgeries that can be done using robotics include:

• Pyeloplasty
• Nephrectomy and hemi-nephrectomy
• Ureteral re-implantation
• Bladder augmentation cystoplasty
• Appendicovesicostomy (APV) channel creation
• Antegrade continence enema (ACE) channel creation
• Bladder neck reconstruction
• And more

Sometimes robotic surgery is planned, but factors during the surgery cause the surgery to be finished using open surgery. Open surgery uses one large incision that the surgical instruments enters.

Differences Between Robotic Urologic Surgery and Laparoscopic Urologic Surgery  

Another kind of surgery is called laparoscopic surgery. This uses hand-held instruments and a camera that goes into 3 to 4 smaller incisions controlled by the surgeon.

Laparoscopic urologic surgery is like robotic urologic surgery, but does not allow as much movement with instruments as robotic surgery. It also uses a 2D camera unlike robotic surgery, which uses a 3D camera.

Benefits of Robotic Surgery

With robotic surgery, our team can provide the best surgery for our patients with benefits including:

• Smaller scars
• Faster recovery
• Less pain and less need for pain medication
• Less risk of bleeding
• Shorter hospital stay

What to Expect from Pediatric Urologic Surgery

Robotic surgeries may take longer than other types of minimally invasive surgeries due to time needed for positioning instruments and equipment. Expert teams can often complete the surgery in the same amount of time as an open surgery.

Your Child's Recovery from Surgery

Recovery times vary from patient to patient for every kid's surgery. In general, hospitalization and recovery times for patients who have robotic surgery are much shorter than those who have an open surgery. Children often return to normal activity within a few days, compared to the several weeks necessary after an open surgery.

Insurance Coverage for Pediatric Urologic Surgery

Pediatric urologic surgery, including robotic surgery, is covered by insurance. Please be sure to check with your insurance provider regarding your coverage.