Dr. Gyan Pareek is the new chief of division of urology at Lifespan Corp. and the president of Brown Urology Inc. A Lifespan surgeon and Brown University faculty member since 2005, he is an expert in robotic surgery and in 2006 led the team that performed the first robotic surgery in southeastern New England. He discusses the evolution of urologic surgery over the last 20 years, the types and features of robot-assisted surgery offered at Lifespan and future plans for Lifespan urology.
As the new chief of urology at Lifespan, what is on top of your to-do list?
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I am truly honored and humbled to be selected as the Chief of Urology for Lifespan, and to serve in this role along with being the Krishnamurthi Family Professor of Urology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the president of Brown Urology, Inc. My top priorities are growing our research base and expanding our technological capabilities so Lifespan’s urology program remains the best in New England. I want patients in the region to immediately think of Lifespan’s hospitals and Brown Urology as the place to go for treatment because we provide the highest quality care.
You joined Lifespan’s urology department in 2005. How has care and treatment evolved in that time?
Urologic surgery has become more minimally-invasive, evolving from open surgery with large incisions to laparoscopic surgery with small key-hole incisions to robot-assisted surgery. Treatment options have grown to include non-surgical options that use active surveillance to closely monitor patients . Although we are very proud of our surgical treatments, we’re just as proud of our non-surgical active surveillance program. Prostate cancer care has seen substantial changes including the evolution of biomarker use in early detection. The goal of care has remained unchanged from 2005 to 2023, and that is to screen for disease appropriately and provide patients the right treatment at the right time.
In 2006, you led the team that performed the first robotic surgery in Southeastern New England, at The Miriam Hospital. Since then, over 3,500 procedures have been completed at the hospital. What has changed since that first surgery? How does the robotic landscape look like now?
In 2005 a national news magazine published a story featuring a person who had cutting edge robotic surgery to treat prostate cancer. That person was from Rhode Island and had to travel to New York for the surgery. The next year, The Miriam Hospital became the first hospital in the region to offer robotic urologic surgery, and it became quite common to have patients from northern New England bypass Boston and come to us for their urologic care. Now you can have robotic surgery at almost any hospital. What the urology program at The Miriam Hospital offers is more than just three of the latest and most advanced surgical robots. Our comprehensive services and coordinated care are what makes our robotic surgery program one of the best in the country. In addition to having highly skilled surgeons with the most experience and extensive training, we provide a multidisciplinary care team of urologists, oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, dieticians, physical therapists and pathologists who all specialize in urology.
Our physicians sub-specialize in pediatric urology, reconstructive urology, urologic oncology, transplant surgery, endourology and male andrology. Our patients have access to the latest chemotherapy, radiation, hormone and immunotherapy treatment options through the multidisciplinary clinic at the Lifespan Cancer Institute. We offer pathology second opinions by fellowship-trained pathologists who specialize in urology. We offer pre-surgery education sessions, follow up care with our pelvic floor rehabilitation team, integrative complementary therapies including massage and reiki, and follow up care through the Women’s Medicine Collaborative and Men’s Health Center.
What robotic procedures does the MIUI offer? What are some advantages to this approach to surgery for the patients and the surgeons?
Robot-assisted surgery offers greater precision than using conventional instruments alone. The surgical robot uses a 3D, high-definition, high-magnification system for maneuvering instruments that is far superior than any human’s wrist. These robotic systems enable skilled surgeons to perform procedures through tiny incisions, resulting in reduced pain and blood loss, quicker recovery, shorter hospital stay, minimal scarring and fewer complications.
We currently offer over 15 different robotic-assisted surgeries, including surgery on the prostate, kidney, adrenal gland, ureter, urethra, lymph nodes and bladder for cancerous and non-cancerous conditions. We offer kidney preservation, advanced reconstruction and radical exenteration robotic surgeries.
What is on the horizon for Lifespan urology?
We are looking forward to further expansion. Rhode Island has one of the highest rates of urologic cancers. We are rising to meet this need and have recruited an additional urologic oncologist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York who will join our team and care for patients with bladder, kidney, prostate, testicular, adrenal and penile cancers. Over the next 6 months, we look forward to offering new treatments for patients with cancerous and non-cancerous conditions. We are working with our internal medicine and primary care colleagues around the state to integrate and coordinate care for our patients needing urologic care. As faculty of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, our team has the unique honor of training healthcare providers. We aim to further develop and increase our training programs. And finally, we intend to further our research and innovation through collaboration with industry partners, offering additional clinical trials and bringing basic science research to the bedside.
Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.
