Prostate Removal Information

Prostate cancer kills more men every year in the United States than any other cancer outside of lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. One in every six men will seek treatment for the disease in his lifetime, making it a very real health threat. The oldest prostate cancer treatment option is prostate removal surgery. High success rates make this a viable option for many qualifying patients.

Types

• Physicians have three types of prostatectomies they can perform. The first is an open retropubic prostatectomy. This involves an incision from the navel to above the pubic bone to remove the prostate gland. The second is perineal surgery, wherein the doctor makes a smaller incision between the scrotum and rectum, accessing the prostate underneath the pubic bone. A laparoscopic prostatectomy involves small keyhole incisions through which the doctor inserts tiny instruments to remove the prostate gland in small pieces. This procedure is often done with the aid of robotic surgery devices, such as the Da Vinci device.

Effectiveness

• Both laparoscopic and open prostatectomies have high success rates in patients with localized prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Institute reports that patients with low-risk disease see a 76 to 98 percent success rate. The number drops to 60 to 76 percent for moderate-risk disease and 30 to 76 percent for high-risk disease. The rate of effectiveness depends largely on the skill of the doctor, and doctors who perform prostatectomy surgery on a regular basis have the best success rates relating to removing all of the cancerous tissue.

Recovery

• The National Institutes of Health state that the average hospital stay for radical prostatectomy patients is one to four days. Those receiving robotic laparoscopic surgery typically leave the hospital the day after the procedure. Patients will wear a catheter for two to three weeks after the surgery to allow urination while the area heals. Patients are encouraged to move around as much as possible starting the day after surgery to aid healing and lower the risk of blood clotting. Full recovery can take as long as 12 weeks.

Risks

• While prostate removal surgery is highly effective at treating localized prostate cancer, the surgery is not without its risks. Incontinence and impotence are the most common side effects. Many incontinence symptoms will lessen as the patient heals. Retropubic surgery involves nerve-sparing techniques that lower the risk of impotence. Sometimes the rectum is damaged during the course of surgery. If scar tissue develops around the urethra, the urinary outlet will tighten, a condition known as urethral stricture. Risks common to all surgeries include reaction to anesthetic, blood loss, heart attack, infection, breathing difficulties and blood clots.

Criteria for Surgery

• While your physician is the only one who can determine whether or not you are a good candidate for prostate cancer surgery, the Prostate Cancer Treatment Guide publishes a few criteria that point to the patients who are good candidates for this treatment. First, prostatectomy works best for patients with localized prostate cancer that has not spread to the regional lymph nodes. Patients need to be in good overall health, and ideally they should be younger than 75.