[QUOTE=roob1;1671938]Robotic surgery performed by an experienced surgeon is far from very major surgery. You get about 4 very small incisions in the stomach area, one night in hospital and catheter for 10 days or so. It is generally done in under an hour.
Again, the operative word is "experienced"...find one who has done hundreds and hundreds. Side effects are also highly related to the experience of the surgeon (as well as other factors).
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Originally Posted by l2ridehd
Surgery. 30% of those that get their prostate removed (and this is very major surgery) end up doing radiation. And the side effects can be awful.
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There are lots of opinions on the pros and cons of robotic vs open retro pubic radical prostatectomy surgery, and yes, the robitic surgery is less difficult on the patient with quicker recovery. However, there is no evidence that robitic surgery will yield better results. The patient is looking for "the trifecta" in terms of results. First, clean margins and complete cancer removal, second is continence control, and third is avoiding complete ED. Hospitals that invested heavily in robotic technology will push this meathod to get a return on their large investments. Also, most younger Doctors are only trained in robotic surgery.
All that said, what the robotic surgeons won't tell you is that without their hands actually doing the surgery, they can not feel the prostate and the tumor, and use that most important sense to help determine how much tissue to remove, giving the patient the best chance of clean margins. And with clean margins, no post operative radiation is needed.
I had the open surgery, and it is a major surgery, but in the grand scheme of life, a harder surgery and a few more weeks of recovery time was well worth it. Dr. McGovern is my hero, he gave me the trifecta : )