According to a new study by The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), new evidence proves the safety of a robotic prostatectomy with the lowest complication rates in prostate cancer treatment. This comes as no surprise to Dr. David Samadi, Chief of the Division of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Department of Urology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, who has performed over 3,000 successful robotic prostate surgeries in the fight against prostate cancer. "It is no secret that robotic surgery results in shorter hospital stays, less blood loss and quicker recovery of sexual and urinary functions compared to the traditional open surgical methods," said Samadi.
The CINJ study, which appearing in the August online issue of the Journal of Endourology examined the outcomes from the first 200 procedures performed at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the flagship Hospital of CINJ, between January 2006 and December 2007. Twelve percent (24 patients) had a complication either during or following surgery for more than a year. Five experienced complications during surgery and 19 had post-surgical complications.
The complications ranged from grade I, or those that don't require therapy. Nine patients were classified as grade II, which required drug treatment. Six men had grade IIIb complications, which required an invasive intervention, with or without general anesthesia. There were no grade IV or V complications, which indicated life-threatening complications or death.
"What's important to note about the study was that there were no significant differences between the group with complications and the group without in regards to age, body-mass index, Gleason score and operating time," explained Dr. Samadi. The patients who experienced complications did have higher PSAs, higher blood loss and longer hospital stays. None of the 200 patients needed a blood transfusion.
"The results of the study are positive because it demonstrates a very low complication rate of twelve percent, which is very encouraging considering this study took place three to four years ago, and the technology and experience has improved substantially," said Dr. Samadi, Samadi is fellowship trained in urologic oncology and laparoscopy. He is considered an internationally recognized expert in both fields.