Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

In recent years, robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (rLRP) has emerged as a feasible treatment option for patients with organ-confined prostate cancer. We first performed rLRP in the republic of Korea and report our technique and outcome. Our patient was a 69-year-old man presenting with a T1a adenocarcinoma, a 4 (2+2) Gleason score and 1.37ng/ml preoperative serum prostate specific antigen. A rLRP was performed with the da Vinci™ robot system (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Mountain View, USA) which has a total of seven degrees of motion (six degrees of freedom and grip) EndoWrist instrumentation. The total operative time was 420 minutes, and the robot set-up time including port insertion was 80 minutes. The estimated blood loss was 200ml. The pathological examination showed a stage T2a, with a 4 (2+2) Gleason score and negative surgical margins. A rLRP confers the benefits of enhanced precision and dexterity for complex laparoscopic work in the pelvic cavity.