Denver Health

Fernando Kim

How has technology influenced your career within the medical landscape?

After finishing my training under the mentorship of Dr. Luka Lucy pioneer laparoscopic surgeon from Johns Hopkins University situated in Baltimore, Maryland. With this opportunity I was recruited by Dr. Moore for Denver Health and became the chief of urology where I started to develop the first laparoscopic surgeries that were one of the first in the U.S. Denver Health Urology provides high quality, patient-centered care focusing on all treatment options. They assist patients in making the best decision for their care. Our diverse team of doctors, advanced practice providers and nurses provide medical and surgical treatment for both common and complex urologic disorders.

Being the first authorized and certified surgeon to use robotics from Hopkins, I had courses here in Colorado that would teach doctors, urologists that would help them transform from laparoscopic treatments to robotic operations. Today, the word technology has evolved in urology, especially in reconstruction and cancer surgery. Denver Health is one of the pioneer centers in the U.S. for minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) and also one of the centers of excellence for cryoablation therapy for kidney and prostate cancers. Minimally invasive surgery allows patients fast recovery, less complications and equivalent cancer outcomes. Perhaps one of the biggest centers in the world in terms of ablated technology is that not having the robot was conceivably a challenge to raise awareness in our institution of invasive surgery. However, that certainly did not stop us to continue our expertise.

“Denver Health is one of the pioneer centers in the country for minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) and also one of the centers of excellence for cryoablation therapy for kidney and prostate cancers”

One thing that is very different from other specialties is we truly rely on numerous advances in technology. Before we used to have only one type of laser, for instance, today special kinds of lasers are available to treat various stone types, various sizes, and urinary tract location stones. There is one thing that lasers can also kill and destroy fabric, such as prostate and urinary tract scars. Urology is not the only traditional scalpel, incision, and surgery. Urology consists of many techniques, technological advancements, and surgical procedures for urologists because we use endoscopes that are very small and are diametrically divided into certain urinary areas for the treatment of stones in kidney, or cancer in the kidney, with lasers and those small scrolls. It’s a technological world that is very complex.

The American Urological Association has been very shy of really publicizing the amount of technology and how up-to-date we are in our patients’ care. So urology depends on different advanced upgrade systems, and this is sometimes very not well understood by administrators. Unexpectedly sometimes we get advanced new laser that gives the guidelines telling that this is much better instrument for a particular disease. As doctors, we have been at the forefront of new surgical techniques and new surgical technology. And even in our institution, the vulnerable population of patients is the ones that we don’t want to keep in the hospital wrong for a long period. As doctors, we want to be treating these patients efficiently, fast with the best technology we have.

What are you expecting going forward from a technological point of view?

By 2022, we see lasers are more compact generators, kindly used for the tissue, cancer detection, or the results of treated patients for some other conditions. For instance, we will understand more genetics, DNA, the composition of cells. Thus, we used to have only one company dominating the market with many things, particularly new types of robotic instruments. We now see many more in different countries, and know that the approval of the FDA is under processed. I think we will support all the patients we treat.

What would be your advice to young doctors who would like to work the same outline?

As we see 360 urologists per year plus or minus 2030, this is a very small, specialty, and very competitive, and more residency programs and the number of urology residents is required. We have a growing population of patients and, as people live longer, especially older people. And these are patients where they will probably be observed, because of male or female prostate problems, urinary tract diseases, and so forth. I think for reconstructive surgery the type of specialty wanted to be proficient is to learn about everyone. I believe love is the best advice. Try to study and to give the community as much as possible. And this is how I have tried to deliver that kind of message to younger surgeons or medical student’s residents. And our patients, in particular the vulnerable population, are better served by Denver Health.