Mr. Rick Popert

Mr. Rick Popert
Rick Popert is the Senior Urological Surgeon at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital appointed in 1996. He has always embraced surgical innovation and considers himself fortunate to have worked at Guy’s Hospital where he helped to build one of the foremost urological centres in Europe. He retired from full time NHS practice in 2019, to concentrate on his work as a Fellow on the NHS Innovation Accelerator. He continues to work part time for the NHS as a specialist in prostatic disease at Guy’s Hospital. He is the Chairman of the Urology Cancer MDT for London Bridge Hospital. Benign Prostate Enlargement (BPE): Holmium Laser Prostatectomy (HoLEP), since 2002 Prostate Artery Embolisation (PAE), since 2014 REZUM Steam Therapy, since 2019 Rick Popert has specialised in the treatment of Prostatic disease for over 25 years. He established the first Holmium Laser Prostate (HoLEP) Surgery Centre in London. He has done over 1500 HoLEP procedures. The service is recognised nationally and receives tertiary referrals from all over London and around the country, specialising in the treatment of very large prostates. In 2014, he was the first Urologist in London to offer Prostate Arterial Embolisation (PAE), a minimally invasive alternative to HoLEP for large glands, avoiding the risks of surgery. Over the last 2 years he has introduced day case REZUM steam therapy, a less invasive alternative to standard TURP or HoLEP surgery. Robotic Aquablation 2022 – At Guy’s Hospital he has established the first Aquablation program within the NHS in London. The key area which needs to be addressed is the management of patients with prostate volumes of 80 – 150cc. These patients would normally be offered a traditional Holmium Laser prostatectomy; however, many patients are concerned about the risks of ejaculatory dysfunction and urinary incontinence. Robotic Aquablation appears to be a very suitable solution for these patients and is the focus of the program being introduced at Guy’s Hospital. Prostate Cancer Diagnosis General Anaesthetic Transperineal (TP) Prostate Biopsies, since 2007 General Anaesthetic TP MRI – US Fusion Biopsies, since 2012 Local Anaesthetic PrecisionPointTM TP Biopsies including MRI Fusion, since 2018 Rick Popert is passionate about improving prostate cancer diagnosis. He was introduced to the PrecisionPointTM technology by the inventor Matt Allaway and immediately recognised the benefits, avoiding the infective complications of Transrectal Biopsies and the morbidity associated with General Anaesthetic multi-puncture Transperineal Biopsies. In 2019, he was appointed a Fellow on the NHS Innovation Accelerator with the ambition to scale this nationally and has completely transformed practice across the UK. TP biopsies now account for 65% of all prostate biopsies, before the pandemic it was about 30%. During the Pandemic, he worked with HCA @ The Shard to establish the first private outpatient-based TP biopsy programme in London, replicating the successful service at Guy’s Hospital. Prostate Cancer Procedures Dynamic Prostate Brachytherapy, since 2003 (over 1000 cases) Robotic Assisted Radical Prostatectomy, since 2006 (over 1200 cases) Fiducial Markers and Insertion of Perirectal SpaceOAR, since 2018 (over 200 cases) Dynamic Prostate Brachytherapy: In 2003, Rick Popert introduced Dynamic Prostate Brachytherapy, and with the oncology team have the UK’s largest experience of this day case technique having treated over 1000 patients. Prostate brachytherapy is suitable for patients with low to intermediate risk prostate cancer and we are also exploring the use of the dynamic technique as a Focal treatment for very localised prostate cancer. Robotic Prostate Surgery: Rick Popert was one of the first surgeons in London to convert to Robotic Prostate Surgery in 2006 having done training visits to both Detroit and the Cleveland Clinic. He has extensive experience in Robotic Prostatectomy having performed over 1200 cases. Within HCA @ Guy’s, he is able to offer the most technically advanced robotic surgery including the “Neurosafe” evaluation of surgical margins. Insertion of Fiducial Markers & Perirectal SpaceOAR: Working with Dr Morris, Consultant Oncologist, all available radiotherapy treatments can be offered from External Beam Radiotherapy, Brachytherapy and the Cyberknife. It is recommended that patients have insertion of Fiducial Markers and a Perirectal SpaceOAR before starting their radiotherapy treatment. This procedure can be offered conveniently under local anaesthetic in the Shard Outpatient Centre.

All surgical treatments have inherent and associated side effects. Individual’s outcomes may depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to patient characteristics, disease characteristics and/or surgeon experience. The most common side effects are mild and transient and may include mild pain or difficulty when urinating, discomfort in the pelvis, blood in the urine, inability to empty the bladder or a frequent and/or urgent need to urinate, and bladder or urinary tract infection. Other risks include ejaculatory dysfunction and a low risk of injury to the urethra or rectum where the devices gain access to the body for treatment. Further, there may be other risks as in other urological surgery, such as anesthesia risk or the risk of infection, including the potential transmission of blood borne pathogens. For more information about potential side effects and risks associated with Aquablation therapy for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) treatment, speak with your urologist or surgeon. Prior to using our products, please review the Instructions for Use, Operator’s Manual or User Manual, as applicable, and any accompanying documentation for a complete listing of indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions and potential adverse events. No claim is made that the AquaBeam Robotic System will cure any medical condition, or entirely eliminate the diseased entity. Repeated treatment or alternative therapies may sometimes be required.

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