Robotic Radical Prostatectomy

The latest technological advances in surgical procedures to treat prostate cancer include robotic surgical technology, also known as robotic radical prostatectomy, which was developed in the United States State Department for military use on the battlefield. However, it is currently being used on civilians by many hospitals around the world.

This technology uses laparoscopic patient-robot interfaces and micro cameras for a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed by a surgeon from the comfort of a computerized console.

The Urology Institute at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, is responsible for making robotic radical prostatectomy popular in the United States, and the technology is quickly catching up in European and Asian hospitals.

One of the advantages that this state-of-the-art technology presents is that there is a very small learning curve for the surgeons, meaning that as long as they have ample experience in open surgical procedures, they will be able to easily use the console to perform a robotic laparoscopic surgery, even if they have little experience in this particualr procedure.

Recent reports from around the world show very positive results from these robotic procedures. For instance, they show that out of 2700 robotic prostatectomies, the maximum procedure duration is less than 2 hours, and the average hospital stay is less than one day for 97% of the patients treated.

Most of the patients who undergo robotic prostatectomies have an excellent chance of enjoying a perfect erection in one to two years time. However, regaining healthy erectile functions after any prostatectomy procedure depends very much on the age of the patient. The younger the patient is, the more likely it will be for him to eventually experience erections again. If erectile function goes away permanently, the doctors will most probably recommend erectile dysfunction medications, such as generic Viagra to be taken.

Once again, we see robotic technology being used in the medical field with very successful results.