The French experience: A comparison of the perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at montsouris

Abstract

The robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) has gained rapid acceptance in the urological community due to its documented advantages over standard laparoscopy radical prostatectomy (LRP)1,2 and open prostatectomy.3-5 This advantage has been most appreciated with regards to the learning curve due to enhanced three-dimensional visualization and instruments that allow six degrees of freedom of motion.6 These benefits to the surgeon must, however, translate to improved overall outcomes to justify the increased economic burden placed by the robot.7-9 In this chapter, we will review the current literature for the peri-operative morbidities of RALP. Due to our extensive experience with pure LRP at Montsouris,10,11 the minimally invasive standard to which the RALP must be compared, we will reference the current literature and our own series of both RALP and LRP to make the necessary comparisons for this developing technology. © 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited.