In a nutshell
This study compared robot and open prostate removal. It concluded that both improved urinary function but that robot prostate removal had less complications.
Some background
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. An enlarged prostate can affect bladder function and have a negative impact on quality of life. Treatments for BPH may include medication or surgery to remove excess prostate tissue. Medications for BPH often result in many side effects while surgery can lead to complications.
Open simple prostatectomy (OSP) is a common surgery carried out on men with larger prostates. It involves removing part of the enlarged prostate gland by a skilled surgeon. Robot-assisted prostatectomy (RASP) is a newer surgical method for removing larger prostates in men with BPH. RASP involves using a robot machine to remove the gland and can be more accurate and cause fewer complications than OSP.
Methods & findings
41 patients were inlcuded in this study. Medication had not worked to treat BPH for each of these patients. Some patients were also catheterized. The patients were divided into two groups. One group had OSP and the other group had RASP. These two groups were followed for 3 months after their surgeries and assessed for urinary function and complications.
The blood loss during surgery was lower in the RASP group, but the operation time was longer. The time spent in hospital after the surgery and the time before catheters could be removed was lower in the RASP group. The urinary function after surgery was no different between the OSP group and the RASP group.
Some complications did occur. In the OSP group, 27% of patients suffered from complications such as: bladder rupture, deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot that forms in a deep vein in the body) and blood transfusions. There was significantly more complications in the OSP group than in the RASP group.
The bottom line
The study concluded that RASP patients did not suffer as many complications as OSP patients. It also concluded that both procedures produced similar urinary function improvements.
The fine print
The authors note that RASP is more expensive than OSP. They also note that the allocation of each patient to their group wasn't random. This may affect the study's results.
What’s next?
If you are interested in learning more about OSP or RASP to treat BPH, contact your doctor.
Published By :
BJU international
Date :
Sep 10, 2018
