Advantages of Robot-assisted Techniques for Urologic Surgeries
Robotic surgery can decrease blood loss and patient pain, lead to a shorter recovery time than a traditional laparoscopic approach, and offers surgeons a shorter learning curve.
About Douglas Dahl, MD
Douglas M. Dahl, MD, FACS, is the Chief of Urologic Oncology and a urologic surgeon in the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Urology. He specializes in the treatment of cancer, minimally invasive surgery, and related research.
Dr. Dahl graduated from Princeton University with honors where he majored in molecular biology. His thesis project was to study genes related to the development of cancer. He then attended medical school at Yale University, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class as recognized by the AOA honor medical society. His internship and residency training were at Harvard. He spent two years in general surgery training at the Brigham and Women's hospital, Boston Children's hospital, and West Roxbury V.A. hospital. He then completed four years of training in Urology in the Harvard Longwood Area program in Urology. This program included training at the above mentioned hospitals and the Beth Israel Hospital of Boston. He served as a research fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute where he studied the genetics of prostate cancer. He then moved to the University of Massachusetts Medical Center where he was the head of urologic laparoscopic surgery. It was there that many firsts in New England took place: The first laparoscopic kidney donor surgery for transplant, and the first laparoscopic radical prostatectomy surgery.
In 2001, he was recruited to start the program in laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. His contributions have been recognized by the hospital where he serves as Director of Robotic Surgery and Chief of the Division of Urologic Oncology. He has also been honored by Harvard Medical School with the title of Associate Professor of Surgery.
Departments, Centers, & Programs:
Clinical Interests:
- Brachytherapy (radioactive seeds)
- Kidney cancer
- Laparoscopic / Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Prostate cancer
- Robotic surgery
- Testicular, penile and genito-urinary cancers
Treats:
- Adult
Locations
Mass General Urology
165 Cambridge St.
7th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 857-238-3838
Medical Education
- MD, Yale University School of Medicine
- Residency, Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Residency, Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Fellowship, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
American Board Certifications
- Urology, American Board of Urology
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Cigna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Fallon Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- MassHealth
- Medicaid CT
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicaid VT
- Medicare
- Medicare ACO
- Multiplan
- Railroad Medicare
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- United Health Care
- Wellpoint
- WellSense
- WellSense NH
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Dr. Dahl's current research focus is in two areas: novel techniques and technologies for minimally invasive Urologic surgery and clinical trials in Urologic oncology. He developed techniques in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy that are now in clinical use. He has published novel techniques in renal transplant and renal surgery, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, and laparoscopic hernia repair, and has overseen the design and engineering of devices for improving laparoscopic surgery. He has worked with several of the major equipment makers in developing and testing new equipment for minimally invasive surgery.
Dr. Dahl's current area of oncology research interest is in clinical trials in multimodality treatment of urologic malignancies. He served as an investigator for several national studies in treatment of bladder cancer, salvage surgery for radio-resistant prostate cancer, and a prostate cancer prevention trial. He served on the Human Subjects Committee charged with review and approval of all clinical investigations. His current role at Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital, includes serving as the co-Principal Investigator of one of five sections of the Harvard SPORE grant studying renal cell carcinoma serum and tissue markers. He is the national Urology chair for two national studies under the auspices of the RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group).
Publications
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Recent Publications:
- Transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in patients after laparoscopic prosthetic mesh inguinal herniorrhaphy. Brown JA, Dahl DM. Urology. 2004 Feb;63(2):380-2.
- Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and body mass index: an assessment of 151 sequential cases. Brown JA, Rodin DM, Lee B, Dahl DM. J Urol. 2005 Feb;173(2):442-5.
- Isolation and characterization of circulating tumor cells from patients with localized and metastatic prostate cancer. Stott SL,et al, Dahl DM, Wu CL,et al Sci Transl Med. 2010 Mar 31;2(25):25ra23.
- A prospective study of symptom distress and return to baseline function after open versus laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Dahl DM, Barry MJ, McGovern FJ, Chang Y, Walker-Corkery E, McDougal WS.J Urol. 2009 Sep;182(3):956-65. Epub 2009 Jul 17.
- Lymphotropic nanoparticle-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (LNMRI) identifies occult lymph node metastases in prostate cancer patients prior to salvage radiation therapy. Ross RW, Zietman AL, Xie W, Coen JJ, Dahl DM, Shipley WU, et al.M.Clin Imaging. 2009 Jul-Aug;33(4):301-5.
- Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair during laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Lee BC, Rodin DM, Shah KK, Dahl DM. BJU Int. 2007 Mar;99(3):637-9.
- The results of concurrent chemo-radiotherapy for recurrence after treatment with bacillus Calmette-Guérin for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: is immediate cystectomy always necessary? Wo JY, Shipley WU, Dahl DM, Coen JJ, Heney NM, Kaufman DS, Zietman AL. BJU Int. 2009 Jul;104(2):179-83. Epub 2008 Dec 23.
Excellent
Very attentive, very well-known, everything went very well.
It took a month to get an appointment, but I understand Dr Dahl is a busy doc. He was great at going over possible treaments, side effects, etc. He confirmed my choice of treatment is best for me.
Polite, professional, knowledgeable, easily communicated findings and plan for the future
Dr. Dahl is always very professional, takes his time to explain things in an easy manner, and is always caring and understanding.
Dr. Dahl is an outstanding surgeon. His knowledge, expertise and compassion are by far the best I have ever experienced. I highly recommend Dr. Dahl as a care provider. There is none better.
Dr. Dahl was very kind and helpful while explaining my kidney cancer. He will provide me with great care as I move forward with my surgery.
Excellent care, caring, and follow-up, and being able to relate to the patient and the issues in a way that is comforting and provides confidence.
Dr. Dahl is an amazing doctor and I trust him 100%
Great job explaining procedure and expectations. Very comfortable knowing what to expect.