Tips and tricks for robotic prostatectomy: A step-by-step approach

Abstract

Since the first Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP) has been successfully performed in 2001, robotic assis¬tance has dramatically changed the surgical manage¬ment of clinically localized prostate cancer. In this short period, RARP is now being utilized worldwide. In the United States, 41% of radical prostatectomies were performed with robot-assistance in 2006. This number increased to more than 60% in 2007 and nearly 80% in 2008. More impor¬tantly, multiple RARP series are now mature enough to demonstrate safety, efficiency and reproducibility of the procedure, as well as oncologic and functional outcomes comparable to its open counterpart. In the present manuscript we perform a detailed description of our surgical technique of RALP and provide practical recommendations based on available reports and personal experience