Laparoscopy Assisted Minilaparotomy Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy (LaMRRP) for Localized Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Compared with radical retropubic prostatectomy(RRP), laparoscopic surgery significantly reduces postoperative discomfort, the length of the hospital stay and the length of the convalescent period. However, the procedure of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy(LRP) is difficult to master. Therefore, we considered the surgical technique that is minimally invasive like LRP and it does not require a considerable learning curve and brings good results, like conventional RRP.Materials and Methods: From January to May 2006 at our institution, we performed LaMRRP on 7 patients who were diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer. Under general anesthesia, a 5cm midline incision was made suprapubically and a 10mm trocar is introduced extraperitoneally at the umbilicus for the camera. The assistant port consisted of a 5mm trocar that was placed for blood suction and for vesicourethral anastomosis. We performed the operation under direct vision through the small window and using a video monitor. The surgical procedures followed the steps employed in conventional RRP.Results: We successfully performed the operation in all cases without any extension of the incision. The mean patient age is 68.4 years old(range: 59-75). The mean operating time was 320 min(range: 290-360). The mean blood loss was 1,380ml(range: 1,150-1,800). There were no major complications. The postoperative pain was noticeably reduced compared with conventional RRP. The urethral catheter was left in place for 18 days (range: 14-25) in all the patients and postoperative cystography showed no leakage.Conclusions: We could perform LaMRRP with using enhanced surgical views, and there was no long learning curve and no additional expense. The results of LaMRRP were not significantly different from that of conventional RRP. Therefore, LaMRRP could be a useful method for the treatment of localized prostate cancer.