Robotic-assisted surgery helps man fly
through recovery

It was hardly necessary.

“I really haven’t had pain to speak of,” said Taylor, owner of Northern Plains Equipment in Mandan. “I think I used one or two of the pain pills.”

Had Taylor undergone a traditional open prostatectomy, which would’ve required a large cut, his recovery could’ve taken as long as four to six weeks, said Nadim Koleilat, MD, the Sanford Health urologist who performed Taylor’s surgery.

“We’re at the cutting edge of technology providing our patients with the latest innovation in medicine,” Dr. Koleilat said.

In 2007, Dale Klein, MD, a family medicine doctor at Sanford North Mandan Clinic, first noticed Taylor had a slightly elevated level of a prostate-specific antigen—a protein produced by the prostate gland— during a routine physical. A PSA test measures the level of the protein, and higher-than-normal levels can be a warning sign for prostate cancer.

After that test, Dr. Klein continued to monitor Taylor’s PSA level, and Taylor started learning as much as he could about prostate cancer and treatment.

Ultimately, Dr. Klein referred Taylor to a urologist. Initial biopsies showed no reason for alarm, but, in April, Dr. Koleilat broke the news that Taylor felt was inevitable: He had prostate cancer, and a prostatectomy would be the best course of treatment.