Wei Shen Tan

About

Wei Shen Tan is a distinguished urological surgeon and researcher whose work has profoundly shaped the evidence base for minimally invasive bladder cancer surgery. With a career centered on radical cystectomy—the surgical removal of the bladder—Tan has been instrumental in rigorously evaluating robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) against traditional open approaches. His landmark systematic reviews and meta-analyses, including a 2023 study accumulating over 100 citations and a 2016 analysis with 82 citations, synthesized randomized controlled trial data to provide the surgical community with the clearest available evidence on perioperative recovery, oncological control, and patient quality of life. Beyond comparative effectiveness research, Tan has made notable technical contributions, including describing the intracorporeal pyramid neobladder reconstruction technique and demonstrating how combining RARC with enhanced recovery programs can meaningfully improve patient outcomes through "aggregating marginal gains." His international collaborative work tracking adoption trends across North American and European centers further highlights his global influence. Spanning early investigations into robotic prostatectomy margins and learning curves to his current leadership in bladder cancer surgery research, Tan's cumulative body of work—exceeding 650 citations—makes him an essential reference point for surgeons and researchers navigating the evolving landscape of robotic urological oncology.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Robot-assisted Radical Cystectomy Versus Open Radical Cystectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Perioperative, Oncological, and Quality of Life Outcomes Using Randomized Controlled Trials

   100 citations · 2023
2. 2
   Robotic Assisted Radical Cystectomy with Extracorporeal Urinary Diversion Does Not Show a Benefit over Open Radical Cystectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

   82 citations · 2016
3. 3
   Differences in trends in the use of robot‐assisted and open radical cystectomy and changes over time in peri‐operative outcomes among selected centres in North America and Europe: an international multicentre collaboration

   82 citations · 2019
4. 4
   Intracorporeal robot‐assisted radical cystectomy, together with an enhanced recovery programme, improves postoperative outcomes by aggregating marginal gains

   76 citations · 2017
5. 5
   Robot‐assisted intracorporeal pyramid neobladder

   70 citations · 2015
6. 6
   Complications of Radical Cystectomy and Orthotopic Reconstruction

   62 citations · 2015
7. 7
   Apical Margins after Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy: Does Technique Matter?

   59 citations · 2009
8. 8
   The Learning Curve for Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy

   55 citations · 2009
9. 9
   Analysis of open and intracorporeal robotic assisted radical cystectomy shows no significant difference in recurrence patterns and oncological outcomes

   43 citations · 2016
10. 10
    Impact of body mass index on robot-assisted radical cystectomy.

    39 citations · 2009

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links