Dr. Shah is the ONLY prostate cancer surgeon in the state to publish results of his surgeries!
1) In 2011, The prestigious Journal of Urology published a study which looked at the collective incidence of positive surgical margins (PSMs) with radical prostatectomy, as performed by surgeons in the state of NM. A positive surgical margin is cancer present at the edge of the prostate when it is removed. The incidence of PSMs is one measure of the quality of a cancer surgery - that is, the lower the PSM rate, the better the outcome.
In this study, men with organ-confined cancers who were treated with open traditional prostatectomy in the year 2007 (before Dr. Shah came to NM) had a 28% PSM rate.
However, men treated with robotic surgery in NM (98% of which Dr. Shah performed), had a 15% PSM - significantly lower. Dr. Shah believes this low PSM rate - evidence of excellent cancer control - is partly due to the magnification and precision inherent in the robotic surgical system. But remember, the robot does not perform the surgery - your surgeon performs the surgery - hence experience matters!
You can read more about this study by clicking here.
2) In 2013, Dr. Shah also presented a video of his approach to urinary continence preservation at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting. His technique involves identifying and preserving the "continence nerves" (in addition to potency nerves) which is has not been well described previously.
3) In 2013, Dr. Shah's paper describing his outcomes with robotic prostatectomy in patients with co-existing prostate enlargement was published in the prestigious Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons.
Recent publications:
Shah SK, et. al. SEER coding standards result in Underestimation of Positive Surgical Margin Incidence at Radical Prostatectomy: Results of a Systematic Audit. J Urol, 186: 855-59, 2011.