Dr Scott Leslie was privileged to spend two years at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles working alongside world leaders in robotic and laparoscopic surgery for urologic cancers. In so doing, he has been able to bring back to Australia operations and techniques that had not previously been performed here. With three robotic theatres running concurrently at the Keck hospital of USC, Dr Leslie amassed a large experience in robotic surgical techniques. During his 2 year fellowship he was involved in over 500 procedures including robotic prostatectomy for prostate cancer, robotic partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer and robotic radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.
As the USC Institute of Urology is at the forefront of innovation, Dr Leslie was involved in the development of novel robotic techniques for various urological conditions. These include robotic simple prostatectomy for men with benign prostate enlargement causing difficulty with urination, robotic ileal conduit or orthotopic neobladder formation following bladder removal, robotic retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer, “single-dock” nephro-ureterectomy, robotic caval thrombectomy for advanced kidney cancer, and organ-sparing (vagina/uterus) cystectomy for female patients with bladder cancer.
Dr Leslie has also performed numerous ‘salvage’ operations for patients who have failed primary radiotherapy for their prostate or bladder cancer.
During his 2 years in Los Angeles Dr Leslie contributed to numerous research projects at USC and presented the results of his research at various scientific meetings.
Dr Leslie’s publications and qualifications can be found here. Visit the USC Institute of Urology website.
Major robotic procedures performed by Dr Scott Leslie:
Robotic radical prostatectomy – potency and continence preserving techniques.
Robotic partial nephrectomy – advanced techniques to minimize kidney injury (“zero” ischemia).
Robotic radical cystectomy – including nerve-sparing techniques to preserve erections and continence.
Novel robotic techniques pioneered at USC and performed by Dr Scott Leslie:
Robotic urinary diversion – intracorporeal ileal conduit or neobladder following radical cystectomy.
Robotic organ-preserving cystectomy – for female bladder cancer patients wishing to preserve their vagina / uterus.
Robotic simple prostatectomy – for men with enlarged prostates causing urinary symptoms.
Robotic nephro-ureterectomy – for patients with certain types of kidney cancer (TCC) where the ureter must be removed all the way down to the bladder.
Robotic nephrectomy with caval thrombectomy – for certain types of kidney cancer where the tumour involves the IVC.
Salvage robotic prostatectomy and salvage robotic cystectomy – for patients who have failed primary radiotherapy for prostate cancer or bladder cancer.