TAIPEI, TAIWAN (UroToday.com) - Robotic simple prostatectomy is a procedure gaining rapid acceptance, presumably making a procedure notorious for bleeding and urinary incontinence safer. Dr. Neisius and colleagues from Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany, examined the learning curve of a single surgeon with regard to blood loss, transfusion rate, and operative time.
“We have found this to be a safe procedure that can be mastered rather quickly by surgeons experienced with the robot,” says Neisius.
The abstract features an impressive curve showing operative times that gradually decrease from 250 to 150 minutes over 25 cases. Blood loss remained relatively stable throughout the learning curve, and the transfusion rate was 4% (1/25 cases).
All patients appeared to benefit with regard to urinary symptoms without significantly impacting erectile function.
Presented by Andreas Neisius, Peter Rubenwolf, Sebastian Nestler, Christian Thomas, Frederik C. Roos, Christian Hampel, and Joachim W. Thuroff at the 32nd World Congress of Endourology & SWL - September 3 - 7, 2014 - Taipei, Taiwan
Department of Urology, Universitatsmedizin Mainz, Germany
Written by Adam Kaplan,MD, chief resident, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of California-Irvine, and medical writer for UroToday.com
