Cystectomy is a bladder surgery that removes all of the bladder or part of the bladder (partial cystectomy). The three methods of bladder surgery are all performed here at the Miami urology center. The three methods used to perform the bladder removal surgery are 1) the traditional radical cystectomy open surgery performed manually by creating an incision in the abdomen. 2) Laparoscopic cystectomy is performed through thin instruments placed into the abdomen with small incisions while the surgery is viewed on a monitor by the surgeon. 3) Robotic cystectomy is similar to the laparoscopic surgery except the da Vinci robot is used for even finer control, better suturing and a magnified high definition 3D view of the surgical site.

Cystectomy procedures are performed by Dr Fernando Bianco and Dr Alan Nieder who are part of the Columbia University Division of Urology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Whether it may be a bladder tumor, cystitis, bladder cancer or simply a temporary irritation of the bladder, our Ivy League medical staff will be sure to evaluate your condition and treat you with compassion, discretion, and use the most comprehensive medical tools with their years of clinical experience.

Symptoms of bladder cancer include blood in urine including microhematuria, urinary frequency, painful urination, and urinary retention.

Bladder cancer treatments may be included with your cystectomy such as chemotherapy, radiation treatment, or biological therapy/immunotherapy where drugs are placed into your bladder to help your immune system stop the cancer from coming back.

Nerve sparing cystectomy or partial cystectomy is the preferred surgical procedures. Laparoscopic and robotic surgery helps the urologist gently negotiate nerve bundles with out damaging them, hence increasing the chances of maintaining sexual function.

Cystectomy will include the removal of other organs in the area of the bladder that also have cancer. In woman, the bladder along with the urethra, ovaries, fallopian tubes, the uterus and part of the vagina may be removed. Prostate removal in men with vas deferens, urethra, lymph nodes and seminal vesicles may be removed along with the bladder. These radical cystectomy procedures also have distinct names.  The female radical cystectomy is often called an ovarian cystectomy or anterior pelvic exenteration, while the male radical cystectomy is known as a cystoprostatectomy. The partial cystectomy will entail removing a part of the bladder and closing it up so that, while the bladder capacity is smaller, the bladder will still function.