Health Tips

In 2004 a respected urologic cancer surgeon and a well-known laparoscopic surgeon put their heads together and developed a procedure that is now called laparoscopic prostatectomy. That procedure has become part of the Prostate Cancer Program, one of only 11 U.S. programs acknowledged by the National Cancer Institute as representing a “specialized program of research excellence.”

The laparoscope is a sterile surgical instrument. It contains two main parts: a long tube called a trocar and a tiny camera at one end of that tube. The camera gives off light, and the trocar’s small circuits transmit that light through the tube to a video screen. The screen is in the operating room, where it is viewed by the surgeon.

The surgeon uses a small incision for creating an opening for the laparoscope. The surgeon makes other small incisions for insertion of the small instruments that are used in the prostatectomy. The surgeon watches the picture coming from a 5-10 mm camera throughout the operation.

Laparoscopic prostatectomy provides a number of special benefits:

1) The patient’s convalescent time is cut in half.

2) The patient experiences less pain.

3) The patient experiences less scarring.

4) The patient enjoys a reduced risk of infection.

5) The patient achieves a better quality of life, especially in regard to potency and continence.

Laparoscopic prostatectomy is an option available to patients with either early or late stage prostate cancer.