Ask the Experts

Questions from patients about a variety of urologic topics and answers from our urology experts. Ask the Experts has appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Q: My husband was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and his doctor recommended abdominal surgery to remove the prostate. Are there less invasive ways to perform prostate surgery, and is it as effective as open surgery?

A: Prostate cancer can be treated in a number of ways, and each has advantages and disadvantages. The traditional open prostate cancer surgery, called radical prostatectomy, was popularized in the 1980s and is a very successful treatment for prostate cancer. The surgery is done through an incision from the belly button to the pubic area, and most patients are hospitalized 2-3 days, require a catheter for 2-3 weeks, and spend 6 weeks returning to normal activities. Within the past 5 years surgical techniques have been developed to perform prostate cancer surgery without a large abdominal incision. This operation, called robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, is performed with instruments placed through 4 tiny openings in the abdomen and viewed through a telescope placed below the belly button. A robotic device, called the Intuitive Surgical System translates the surgeon's movements into precise movement of the surgical instruments, allowing more precise and successful surgery. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy results in less pain, shorter hospital stay, less blood loss, and faster return to normal function. The ability to cure prostate cancer with the laparoscopic surgery is equal to or better than with open prostate cancer surgery. Monterey Bay Urology Associates have been performing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy since January 2003. MBUA have been leaders in urologic laparoscopic surgery since performing the first laparoscopic kidney surgery in Santa Cruz in 2001. More information about laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and other prostate cancer treatments is available on our website www.montereybayurology.com.