Standard Surgery

The most effective surgical procedures depend on a cancer’s stage, including how large it is, and whether it has spread to other tissues. Treatments include:

• Local excision - This surgery (sometimes called a resection or biopsy) is used to remove precancerous polyps and very small cancers.
• Transurethral resection - This minimally invasive surgical procedure, performed through the urethra, is most useful for removing those cancers that have not advanced beyond the lining of the bladder.
• Partial cystectomy where only part of the bladder in a procedure called partial cystectomy. The doctor often chooses this type of surgery when a patient has a low-grade cancer that has invaded the bladder wall in just one area.
• Radical cystectomy for invasive bladder cancer is the most common type of surgery. This may also be recommended when superficial cancer involve a large part of the bladder. Radical cystectomy is the removal of the entire bladder, the nearby lymph nodes, part of the urethra and the nearby organs that may contain cancer cells. In men, the nearby organs that are removed are the prostate, seminal vesicles, and part of the vas deferens. In women, the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes and part of the vagina are removed.
• Urinary diversion - Many patients today who require the removal of the entire bladder are candidates for continent urinary diversion, a type of surgery that involves complete pelvic reconstruction that allows patients to recover normal urinary function.