Clinical Services

Section of Urologic Oncology

Urologic oncology deals with the surgical and medical treatment of cancer involving the urinary system and male reproductive organs. These include the adrenal gland, kidney, bladder, prostate, penis and testicle. Many advancements in technology have improved our ability to diagnose and treat these cancers with greater success than ever before. Urologists at the OU Medical Center utilize minimally invasive techniques when possible to decrease discomfort associated with surgical procedures when possible to ensure quicker recovery times.

Sreenivas Vemulapalli, MD, is a fellowship-trained Urologic Oncologist and specializes in the treatment of cancer. He has trained with world leaders in kidney, bladder and prostate cancer at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). While there, he learned modern approaches to effectively treating cancer while minimizing the side effects of treatment. In addition, the Department of Urology actively participates in nationwide clinical trials, offering treatments that may benefit patients when other therapies have failed.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is diagnosed in 200,000 men in the United States yearly. In the early stages there are rarely any symptoms. Early detection and treatment are the most effective methods to cure a patient. There are many treatments available and each patient deserves a therapy that is custom tailored to his needs. The quality of treatments have improved greatly, due to a better understanding of the surgical anatomy and development of modern technology. The therapeutic goal is to treat the cancer without decreasing an individual's quality of life in doing so.

Therapies offered at the OU Medical Center include:

1. Robotic Prostatectomy
2. Nerve Sparing Radical Prostatectomy
3. External Beam Radiotherapy
4. Cryotherapy
5. Brachytherapy (Seed Implant)

Clinical trials in Prostate Cancer at the OU Medical Center

For more information on Prostate Cancer, please visit the National Cancer Institute and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer affects 30,000 people per year. In the past, many patients would have their entire kidney removed. Now, many small tumors can be removed, saving the majority of the kidney. This can help decrease the risk of requiring dialysis in the future, especially for patients with other medical problems including high blood pressure and diabetes. When the entire kidney must be removed, surgery utilizing small incisions can often be performed. Newer techniques even allow some lesions to be frozen within the kidney itself.

Therapies offered at the OU Medical Center include:

1. Open nephrectomy
2. Laparoscopic nephrectomy
3. Partial nephrectomy
4. Cryoablation of kidney tumor

For more information on kidney cancer, please visit the National Cancer Institute.

Bladder Cancer

Bladder Cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and the eight most common in women. There are several types and stages of bladder cancer. Many patients can be effectively treated with endoscopic surgery and the installation of medicine into the bladder. A small group of patients however, require removal of the bladder with urinary diversion. In the past, many patients were given an ileal conduit which collected the urine in a bag on the patient's abdomen. Newer techniques have made it possible for patients to have a “neobladder” or new bladder constructed inside the abdomen which removes the need to wear a urine collection bag.

Therapies offered at the OU Medical Center include:

1. Laparoscopic Cystectomy
2. Transurethral Resection
3. Intravesical Therapy
4. Bladder Preservation Strategies
5. Bladder removal with creation of a neobladder

Clinical trials in Bladder Cancer at the OU Medical Center

For more information on Bladder Cancer, please visit the National Cancer Institute.