Traditional laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a treatment choice in many developing countries and regions for most patients with localized prostate cancer; however, no system for predicting surgical difficulty and risk has been established. This study aimed to propose a simple and standard preoperative classification system of prostate cancer using preoperative data to predict surgical difficulty and risk and to evaluate the relationship between the data and postoperative complications. We collected data from 236 patients and divided them into three groups to evaluate and validate the relationships among preoperative, operative, and postoperative data. This new scoring system is based on the body mass index, ultrasonic prostate volume, preoperative prostate-specific antigen level, middle lobe protrusion, and clinical stage. In the scoring group, we classified 89 patients into two groups: the low-risk group (score of <4) and high-risk group (score of ≥4), and then compared the postoperative data between the two groups. The positive surgical margin rate was higher in the high-risk group than low-risk group. The results in validation Groups A and B were similar to those in the scoring group. The focus of our scoring system is to allow for preliminary assessment of surgical difficulty by collecting the patients' basic information. Urologists can easily use the scoring system to evaluate the surgical difficulty and predict the risks of a positive surgical margin and urinary incontinence in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
Keywords: laparoscopic radical prostatectomy; prostate cancer; scoring system; surgical difficulty and risk.