Surgical Manual from Roswell Park Created to Advance Bladder Cancer Surgery Worldwide

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center announces the release of a new operative surgical manual authored by Khurshid Guru, MD, Chair of Urology and the newly named Dr. Robert P. Huben Endowed Chair in Urologic Oncology. The hardbound publication is a comprehensive educational resource for surgeons performing bladder cancer surgeries such as cystectomy, pelvic lymph node dissection and urinary diversion.

Designed as a resource for surgeons at all stages of training and experience, Manual of Robot-Assisted Bladder Surgery stresses the reproducible and high‑quality surgical practice. Organized around foundational concepts, this new surgical atlas covers everything from core principles of performance and an overview of the surgeon-machine interface to guidance on advanced reconstructive procedures. Incorporated throughout the text are dozens of original medical illustrations created through direct operating room observation, video analysis and collaborative refinement. 

“The introduction of robot-assisted surgery marked a technical shift filled with challenges, controversy, and conjecture,” Dr. Guru writes in a preface. “This manual is structured to convey key technical concepts necessary for the safe practice of surgical technique and provide a deep dive into the finer aspects of robot-assisted bladder surgery.”

Internationally recognized leaders in urology and surgery contribute forewards highlighting the value of this new resource as a teaching tool. 

“What makes this manual extraordinary is not merely its technical precision, but the philosophy that animates it. Every page reflects Khurshid’s conviction that surgical excellence is not a personal achievement but a transferable gift — something to be taught, standardized, and shared so that patients everywhere may benefit,” writes Mani Menon, MD, Chief of Strategy and Innovation and Professor of Urology at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, also Founding Director Emeritus of the Vattikuti Urology Institute.

“The comprehensive and precise illustrations in this atlas clearly demonstrate both pertinent anatomy and important surgical steps,” writes another field leader, James Peabody, MD, FRCS, Vice Chair of Urology at the Vattikuti Urology Institute within the Henry Ford Health System and Clinical Professor of Urology at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and the Wayne State University School of Medicine. “Detailed still images allow the surgical student to seriously contemplate anatomic relationships and technical aspects of surgery in an unhurried fashion. This can be even more memorable than a video clip.”

About Dr. Khurshid Guru

A global pioneer in robot-assisted cancer surgery, Dr. Guru has performed more than 900 robot‑assisted radical cystectomies, also training more than 50 urologic oncology fellows. Demonstrating that complex robot-assisted procedures can be performed with precision and consistency, he introduced the technique of spaces, organizing robotic dissection around defined anatomic planes to improve visualization and safety. He pioneered the “marionette” technique for intracorporeal bowel manipulation, and went on to develop the first fully intracorporeal robotic approach for constructing a neobladder. He founded and leads the International robotic Cystectomy Consortium (IRCC), the world’s largest repository of data related to robot-assisted cystectomy.

What Sets This Manual Apart

The new surgical atlas is the first to bring together several distinguishing assets. It is:

• One of the first manuals to present bladder cancer surgery as a complete system — from patient preparation through to core procedures such as radical cystectomy and intracorporeal reconstruction.
• Built around how surgeons actually see the operation, with anatomy and technique illustrated from the robotic console perspective rather than retrofitted from open surgery.
• Enriched by surgeon‑guided illustrations created by medical illustrators from the ATLAS Studios at Roswell Park through live operating‑room observation and video review, highlighting anatomic planes and technical nuance that are difficult to capture on video.
• One of few resources to fully outline intracorporeal urinary diversion, including neobladder reconstruction, an area often underrepresented in traditional training resources.
• Designed to complement video learning, giving surgeons a way to slow down, study and reflect on complex steps outside the operating room.

The manual is intended for urologic oncologists, surgeons in training, and experienced robotic surgeons seeking to refine techniques, expand reconstructive options such as neobladder surgery, and improve oncologic and functional outcomes for patients with bladder cancer.

“It’s my goal that through this sharing of knowledge and pieces of wisdom I have picked up from many different mentors across the years,” says Dr. Guru, “our Roswell Park team can provide a service to our colleagues in urologic surgery and many positive impacts for patients and their loved ones.”

Through the support of the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, single copies of Manual of Robot-Assisted Bladder Surgery by Khurshid A. Guru, MD, will be provided free of charge, while supplies last, to surgical trainees who meet criteria including a letter of support from a qualified surgical training program. To request a copy of the hardcover book, complete the online order form.

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From the world’s first chemotherapy research to the PSA prostate cancer biomarker, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center generates innovations that shape how cancer is detected, treated and prevented worldwide. The Roswell Park team of 4,000+ makes compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and services accessible across New York State and beyond. Rated “Exceptional” by the National Cancer Institute, Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country and remains the only one in Upstate New York. To learn more about Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Roswell Park Care Network, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.