Introduction: Prostate cancer is the most common malignant disease in men. The number of cases of prostate cancer has increased dramatically in recent 20 years. Radical prostatectomy is a surgical method for the first-line treatment of localised prostate cancer. We performed the first robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy on December 16th, 2005, achieved the boundary of 1000 robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies in 2012, and in 2015, we successfully completed the 1500th robotic-assisted operation on the prostate.
Method: We retrospectively evaluated the oncological and functional results in 1,500 consecutive patients who underwent robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy at our institution between 20052015. The robotic system da Vinci Standard was used for the operations until November 2013, and subsequently the robotic system da Vinci Si HD. Mean age of the patients was 63.7 years (40 to 86); mean BMI was 27.7 (19.4 to 41.4); and mean preoperative PSA was 6.7 ng/ml (0.4 to 112.0).
Results: Pathological stage of the localised prostate cancer was found in 1125 (75%) men, and the stage of locally advanced cancer was found in 363 (24.2%) patients. We determined the Gleason score 7 in surgical specimens of 1150 (76.7%) men. 171 (11.4%) men underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy; metastases in the pelvic lymph nodes were detected in 36 (21.1%) patients. Urinary continence in the period of up to 1 year after the surgery was evaluated in 1218 (81.2%) patients in the group. 1119 (91.9%) men needed no incontinence pads or one safety pad one year from the surgery. Postoperative erectile function was evaluated in 447 (29.8%) men. One year from the surgery, 247 (55.3%) men were capable of a sufficient erection for sexual intercourse without any supportive therapy. Intraoperative complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification were observed in 20 (1.3%) patients; complications within 3 months from the surgery were observed in 127 (8.5%) patients.
Conclusion: Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy is a clearly defined, safe and reproducible minimally invasive treatment of localised prostate cancer.Key words: prostate cancer robotic surgery radical prostatectomy complications.