ONS Connect - September 2008 - (Page 13)

What Advancements Have You Seen in Prostate Cancer Treatment? [One nurSe’S PerSPective] Robotic Prostatectomy Offers Shorter Recoveries Stephanie Matlin, RN, BSN Stephanie Matlin, RN, BSN, is a nurse clinician in the Surgical Urology Service at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick. ore than 150 patients with localized prostate cancer came to the Cancer Institute of New Jersey last year specifically for the da Vinci® (Intuitive Surgical Inc.) robotic prostatectomy. The patients were very concerned about reducing the length of recuperation that an open prostatectomy requires and wanted to get back to being productive in their lives as quickly as possible. Our experience with this technology has been very positive—patients typically have minimal intraoperative blood loss and very little pain and are in the hospital only overnight instead of two to three days with an open procedure. The procedure requires only six small incisions that are sealed with glue, and the urinary catheter needs to stay in only about one week. With this procedure, Issac Kim, MD, PhD, our surgeon, can visualize the nerves more clearly, so there are very good outcomes—about 50% of men have some return of erectile function by three months and 90% by one year, and 93% of patients do not require any continence pads by three months. I developed a teaching sheet that includes information about catheter and incision care, how patients’ bodies will look during stages of healing, and what their bowel, bladder, and sexual function will be like. I give it to them at their first visit and ask that they review it several times before we meet for our preoperative teaching appointment. It has really helped make that visit so much more productive and gives men more confidence about what is happening. I get so much satisfaction from this work—every single day, someone says thank you to me. That’s what makes this job special. ✱ September 2008 ONS CONNECT M 13

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - September 2008

ONS Connect - September 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Advances in Prostate Cancer Treatment A Year in the Life - Month Nine Web Connect Capitol Connection Manage Infusion Reactions From Cetuximab Notice Nursing Now Caregiver Care Oropharyngeal Cancer in Men Associated with HPV Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - September 2008

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