Dr. Peter Ruff is a board-certified Urologist and a Specialist in Advanced Robotic Surgery

Dr. Peter Ruff completed his medical degree at The University of Texas Medical School San Antonio, and his residency at the Medical College of Georgia.  Dr. Ruff also completed a subspecialty Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic and Robotic surgery in San Antonio.

Dr. Ruff sees both male and female patients in all areas of Urology, and has a special interest in minimally invasive robotic surgery for the treatment of prostate, kidney and bladder cancers and as well as urologic malformations. He is known internationally as an expert in minimally invasive robotic surgery.

Dr. Ruff  lives in Austin with his wife and two daughters, and enjoys all outdoor activities including running, hiking, hunting and fishing.

DaVinci Surgery Expert

Dr. Ruff utilized the original Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System for prostate and urologic cancers for many years.  He was one of the first surgeons to utilize the DaVinci robot in Austin starting in 2005.  He has been a local leader and performed the first DaVinci surgeries at Ascension Seton Medical Center and St David’s South Austin Medical Center.  In 2019 he was honored to become one of the first 15 surgeons in the world to be trained on the newer DaVinci Single Port (incision) surgical system.

• In December 2018, he was recognized by Intuitive Surgical for having completed 1,000 Da Vinci robotic surgeries, which was a significant milestone both locally and nationally.
• In April 2019, Dr. Ruff was trained on the  Da VinciSP (Single Port) Surgical System – the latest generation of Da Vinci Robotic devices that allows surgical access through one incision.
• Today, Dr. Ruff has completed more than 850 single incision surgeries and a total of more than 2,100 robotic surgeries, making him one of the most experienced surgeons in the United States and around the world.

Whereas the traditional DaVinci system requires 5 or more incisions and usually enters the abdominal cavity, the newer DaVinci SP surgical system allows for surgery to be done with only one incision.  This less invasive approach also allows for the surgeon to avoid the abdominal cavity and spare additional tissue damage, as well as minimize irritation to the bowels and minimize the recovery period after surgery.

In addition, the DaVinci SP has allowed newer approaches and innovations in the way that traditional DaVinci surgeries were performed, again improving outcomes for patients.   Specifically, approaches such as Retzius-sparing and anterior fascial preserving (“Hood Technique”) prostatectomies significantly minimize the post operative incontinence observed just 10yrs ago with traditional DaVinci prostatectomies.   Similarly, the advent of retroperitoneal (extra-abdominal) approaches to kidney surgeries significantly improve patient experiences.

Dr. Ruff now uses the single incision Da Vinci robot for many surgeries:  Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) voiding symptoms, radical prostatectomies, partial and radical nephrectomies, robotic pyeloplasty, as well as other reconstructive urological procedures involving the kidneys, ureters and bladder.

Teaching Surgeons Across the Globe

Dr. Ruff’s experience with the DaVinci Robot has positioned him as an expert in robotic surgery both nationally and internationally and he is called upon by Intuitive Surgical to teach and train other surgeons on the new single incision approach to robotic surgery.  Locally, St. David’s South Austin is the official observation and peer-to-peer teaching site for the Da Vinci Single Port System.  Dr. Peter Ruff has been named their robotic surgery coordinator. Now he is also instructing physicians nationally, globally  and at many prestigious medical schools including: Emory, Tulane, Baylor, Stanford, Johns Hopkins and MD Anderson.

• In October 2019, Dr. Ruff accepted an invitation to speak at the 37th World Congress of Endourology in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to share his experience with the Da Vinci SP platform.
• In 2022, he was invited to give a presentation at the Texas Medical Center in Houston titled “Single Port Robotic Surgery in Private Practice”.  This talk was attended by representatives of the Baylor Medical School, MD Anderson, as well as private Urologists from around the region. In addition, he was the Moderator for a  panel discussion with Dr. John Davis from MD Anderson and Dr. Jeff Cadeddu from UT Southwestern at the Texas Urological Society meeting in Ft. Worth. The subject of the discussion was “Challenging Cases in Robotic Surgery”.
• In June of 2024, Dr. Ruff traveled to London to train surgeons at the prestigious King’s College Guy’s Cancer Centre on the new Single Port Da Vinci Robotic System.  He subsequently returned to help initiate DaVinci SP system in Liverpool, UK and spoke on the SP system to surgeons from Cambridge and Oxford Universities in Oxford UK.   In addition, he helped perform the first DaVinci SP radical prostatectomy in France at St Ettiene, France (near Lyon) in 2024.

Dr. Ruff continues to be sought out as an expert robotic surgeon.

Offering Patients Access to the Newest Clinical Research

Dr. Ruff is proud to be a part of an organization like Urology Austin that is on the leading edge of clinical research.  When appropriate, he offers patients the ability to enroll in many of the same clinical trials that are happening at national cancer centers, locally through the Clinical Research Department at Urology Austin.

Dr. Ruff  is a member of the American Urological Association, the Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons, the Texas Urological Society, the Texas Medical Association, and the Travis County Medical Society.  He is currently chair of the Robotic Steering Committee for South Austin Medical Center. Dr. Ruff has been recognized as a ‘Top Doctor’ under the category of Urology in the January 2025 edition of Austin Monthly Magazine. He also received this designation from 2014 through 2025. In May 2021, Dr. Ruff was named Surgical Services Physician of the Month at St. David’s South Austin!

May 2021 Urology Austin is pleased to announce that Dr. Peter Ruff has achieved the UroLift Center of Excellence (COE) designation! UroLift is a minimally invasive treatment option for men with Benign Prostastic Hyperplasia (enlarged prostate).  To receive this designation, Dr. Ruff was required to perform a specified number of UroLift procedures each month, be clinically proctored on the safe and effective use of UroLift to provide clinical excellence and participate in a minimum of two NeoTract Center of Excellence continuing education events per year. He has also demonstrated UroLift Clinical Excellence by collecting and reviewing patient outcome data, exhibited clinical excellence skill levels, and helped patients achieve positive outcomes. We congratulate Dr. Ruff on his achievement!

He is currently seeing patients at our Radam Lane, and Bastrop locations. Contact Urology Austin to schedule an appointment with Dr. Ruff.