Pelvic district: Approaches to prostatic diseases

Abstract

The technological evolution from open surgery to laparoscopy and finally to robot-assisted surgery has dramatically changed the approach to prostate cancer. From an anatomical point of view, the robotic technology allowed to increase the understanding of the structures involved during prostatic surgery. In this chapter, we will describe the most important anatomical landmarks that are found during robot assisted radical prostatectomy, approached from three different points of view: perineal, retropubic, Retzius-sparing. With this aim, we will describe the key steps of radical prostatectomy according to the three different anatomical perspectives: bundles, seminal vesicles, bladder neck, apex, vesico-urethral anastomosis.