Have you ever wondered what it takes for surgeons to learn how to perform the complex robotic surgery for prostate cancer? September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and today, we have a special treat for you!

We have the expert robotic prostate surgeon, Dr. Paul Maroni joining us today to discuss how surgeons are trained to do this intricate robotic surgery. A diagnosis of cancer is awful, and Dr. Maroni views the patient surgeon relationship as a partnership. He does his best to give every patient the time they deserve. He focuses on educating his patients in clear terms and uses a team approach to provide the very best cancer care. Stay tuned to find out more!

Dr. Pohlman had the good fortune to learn from Dr. Maroni during his urology residency training at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He found the way that Dr. Maroni broke down the steps of the robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy to be extremely valuable from a training standpoint, and today, he credits much of his early foundational groundwork training in robotic surgical training to Dr. Maroni.

Dr. Maroni received fellowship training in urologic oncology at Indiana University. He returned to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus as a faculty member in 2007, where he is the program leader of the Urologic Oncology Program. His specific clinical and academic interests center around minimally invasive therapies for prostate cancer, robotic surgery, and surgery for metastatic testicular cancer. He has performed over 1000 robotic prostate removals. Be sure to listen in today, to hear our excellent interview with Dr. Maroni, and to hear about what goes into the training of doctors for robotic surgery.

Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation. 

Show highlights:

• Dr. Maroni explains what robotic surgery is.
• How robotic surgery differs from traditional open surgery.
• Dr. Maroni compares purely laparoscopic prostate surgery with robotic laparoscopic prostate surgery. 
• Dr. Maroni discusses the length of time that robotic technology has been around in clinical practice for the removal of the prostate for prostate cancer.
• There are several challenges in teaching surgical trainees how to do robotic prostate removal surgery.
• Dr. Maroni does several things to make sure that he and his team are doing the operation in the best possible way.
• The advances that Dr. Maroni has seen that have helped accelerate the learning curve for those learning how to perform a robotic prostate removal.
• The robotic device is very reliable, so it hardly ever breaks down.
• Dr. Maroni can easily pass the surgical instruments back and forth between himself and the trainee, so he can pick up and take over from the trainee within a second if necessary.
• The simulator and training videos have made the training a lot easier.
• The AUA has continued publishing some valuable video materials.
• Dr. Maroni shares his current approach to teaching urology residents the robotic prostatectomy.

Links and resources:

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About Dr. Maroni