Laparoscopic surgery

After initial training in General surgery at Royal North Shore hospital urology training began in 2006 at Port Macquarie Hospital, Westmead and then Prince of Wales Hospital.

After initial training in General surgery at Royal North Shore hospital, urology training was undertaken at Port Macquarie Hospital, Westmead and then Prince of Wales Hospital.

During this time Dr Arianayagam had significant exposure to laparoscopic surgery (also known as keyhole surgery) and was soon able to perform many laparoscopic procedures. In particular, he trained under Professor Howard Lau at Westmead Hospital. As one of the foremost laparoscopic surgeons in the world, Dr Lau trained Dr Arianayagam in all aspects of minimally invasive surgery. Dr Arianayagam also learned how to perform laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy, where key hole surgery is used to harvest a kidney for transplantation.

Whilst completing his Urologic Oncology fellowship at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine there was also significant exposure to more laparoscopic surgery and it was during this time that Dr Arianayagam also honed his skills in teaching.

In the early phase of his career Dr Arianayagam performed most partial nephrectomy procedures (partial kidney removal) laparoscopically. However there has been an increasing shift towards robotic surgery due to the benefits of the vision and articulated instruments.

Dr Arianayagam has been practicing in Sydney since 2011 and has developed the reputation of being a skilled laparoscopic surgeon and excellent teacher. He routinely performs the entire breadth of laparoscopic surgery ranging from total to partial kidney removal as well as all aspects of adrenal surgery.

Laparoscopic procedures performed include:

• Radical nephrectomy (removal of entire kidney)
• Partial nephrectomy (removal of part of the kidney)
• Pyeloplasty (repair of a kidney when it does not drain properly)
• Adrenalectomy (removal of abnormal or cancerous adrenal gland)
• Ureteric reimplantation (the ureter is reattached to the bladder after an injury, usually after a hysterectomy)

CT scan showing image of tumour on right side of the image.
This small tumour can be removed using key hole surgery.