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Miami, FL — For more than a decade, Gregory Dunn has dedicated his time to the fight against cancer – fundraising for cancer research, volunteering for Relay for Life and giving support to cancer survivors. He never expected the disease would hit so close to home.
But in June, after a couple of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and a biopsy, Dunn, 67, received the devastating news that he had advanced prostate cancer.
“A cancer diagnosis didn’t scare me to death,” said Dunn. “I know what cancer can do. My biggest fear was suffering from erectile and urinary dysfunction after undergoing traditional surgery.”
Dunn’s concerns are shared by many men with similar diagnoses, said Sanjay Razdan, M.D., M.Ch., director of the Urology Center of Excellence at Jackson South Community Hospital.. “The fear of losing the most important essence of being a male drives many prostate cancer patients to avoid surgery all together,” Dr. Razdan said. “At our center, we have mastered the delivery and placement of AmnioFixTM human amniotic membrane during robotic prostatectomy, which helps restore erectile dysfunction.”
In 2012, Dr. Razdan became the first in the world to perfect this technique, which is used to enhance the healing of the nerve bundle to achieve the “trifecta” for prostate cancer patients – curing the cancer, improving continence and restoring sexual potency.
After doing extensive research on his options, Dunn decided that traditional surgery and radiation didn’t make sense for him.
“After meeting with Dr. Razdan and reading about his amazing testimonials with robotic surgery and the human amniotic membrane technique, I knew I was choosing the right doctor,” Dunn said. “He is so confident and reassuring. I call him ‘maestro’.”
On August 20, Dunn successfully underwent a robotic prostatectomy at Jackson South. During the procedure, Dr. Razdan used two techniques, the human amniotic membrane procedure and the modified maximal urethral length preservation (MULP), which helps early return of urinary continence.
Normally, men experience bladder weakness following prostate cancer surgery, and regain bladder control within six to 12 months.
“With the MULP technique, patients at the Urology Center of Excellence at Jackson South have successfully regained control of their bladder in a matter of days,” said Dr. Razdan, who pioneered and perfected the MULP technique, and had his findings published in the prestigious Journal of Endourology in August 2014.
Dunn also became the first patient at Jackson South to undergo robotic surgery with the hospital’s new da Vinci® Xi Surgical System, which was launched in April 2014. The da Vinci Xi offers advanced features over its predecessor, the original da Vinci System. It includes wristed instruments, intuitive motion and an ergonomic design. Most notably, it enables 3D-HD visualization, which helps surgeons perform surgical procedures with a magnified view, virtually extending their eyes and hands into the patient.
As Dunn continues his recovery, he is looking forward to traveling and playing golf. He also plans to continue volunteering for Relay for Life – but now, as a cancer survivor.
“With everything I’ve been through in the last couple of months,” he said, “I’ve earned that purple shirt and will be wearing it at the next Relay for Life.”
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