FAQ

Stones occur within the urinary bladder due to incomplete bladder emptying, urinary stasis, and/or chronic bladder infections. With time, the urine that is not voided begins to harbor bacteria and contain higher amounts of mucus, sediment and urinary minerals, eventually resulting in a bladder calculus. Surgical options for patients…

For kidney and ureteral stones that are too large (usually larger than 2 centimeters), too numerous, or too dense to be treated by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) or ureteroscopy, PCNL (percutaneous nephrolithotomy or stone extraction) offers a minimally invasive method of removing these stones. Historically, large kidney and…

Kidney stones affect 1 in 500 Americans each year, causing significant pain and healthcare expense. Surgical options for patients with symptomatic kidney stones include extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), ureteroscopy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy  (PCNL). Your renal anatomy, stone composition, and body habitus all play major roles in determining outcomes…

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was introduced in the early 1980s as a completely noninvasive therapy to break up stones within the kidney and ureter. The Department of Urology at the University of Florida was one of six sites within the United States to investigate the efficacy of ESWL…

Kidney cysts are a benign and fairly common condition that affects both men and women. About 1 out of 4 people have a cyst on their kidney, and the majority of these cysts do not grow or cause problems throughout one’s lifetime. Occasionally, a renal cyst will…

When urine is formed by the kidney, it pools in an area called the renal pelvis. Almost like a funnel used to pour motor oil into your car engine, the renal pelvis is wide at the top and tapers at the bottom, “funneling” the urine into the…

Adrenal tumors are relatively rare but can cause significant problems including hypertension, excessive sweating, palpitations, weight gain, headaches and other symptoms as a result of hormone production from the adrenal mass. These “functional” or hormone-secreting tumors include pheochromocytoma, aldosteronoma, Cushing’s tumor and adrenal cancer.

For patients diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma of the kidney or ureter (also known as urothelial cell carcinoma), laparoscopic and robotic nephroureterectomy provides patients with a safe and minimally invasive technique for complete removal of the affected kidney, ureter, tumor and regional lymph nodes. This…

Laparoendoscopic Single Site (or LESS) Surgery is a novel surgical approach allowing for removal of diseased organs through a small, single skin incision. This is in sharp contrast to more invasive surgical treatments such as traditional open surgery or multi-incision laparoscopic surgery (Figure 1). Often this single incision can be…

For patients diagnosed with a small (i.e., < 4 cm) kidney tumor (Figure 1), laparoscopic and robotic partial nephrectomy provides patients with a safe and minimally invasive technique for removal of the tumor, while preserving the remainder of the healthy kidney.