Faster Return of Continence Shown in Prostate-Removal Surgery Using Laparoscopic Procedure

City of Hope
Wednesday, 30 April 2003

Quicker Return of Potency, Less Blood Loss and Shorter Recovery Also Suggested

City of Hope Cancer Center urologists performing prostate surgery with laparoscopic instruments are achieving faster return of continence for their patients than those receiving standard open surgery at other medical centers, according to data presented today at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

In laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, as the procedure is known, surgeons insert long, slender instruments that are manipulated outside of the body into five small "band aid" holes in the abdomen to remove a cancerous prostate. Traditional prostate surgery, radical retropubic prostatectomy, involves an incision from the navel to the pelvic bone.

"Return of urinary function is the first goal of prostate surgery after the cancerous prostate gland is removed," said Soroush Ramin, M.D., City of Hope urologist, who presented the data. "We achieved continence return at three, six, nine and 12 months after surgery at levels that were higher than what is seen in the standard open surgical procedure," he said.

The results were based on 111 laparoscopic procedures performed at City of Hope, Los Angeles, between Oct. 1, 2001 and Oct. 1, 2002. All patients were followed for at least one year. Full return of continence was defined as zero urinary pad usage.

The less invasive laparoscopic procedure offers other patient benefits as well. The need for blood transfusions is far less, about 1.2% of patients compared to 10 percent of those receiving the standard open procedure.

Patients also recover faster from laparoscopic radical prostatectomy surgery—in as little as two weeks compared to about eight weeks from the open procedure.

Return of sexual function rates also are expected to be faster after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy than the standard open procedure, although statistical data have not yet been compiled.

City of Hope urologists lead the nation in the number of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy surgeries performed—more than 400 since 2000.

The laparoscopic surgeries were performed by Dr. Ramin and members of City of Hope's urology team, Timothy Wilson, M.D., director, Department of Urology and Urologic Oncology; Mark Kawachi, M.D., director, Prostate Cancer Center; and Laura Crocitto, M.D. One in 10 men in the U.S. gets prostate cancer, making it the second most common form of cancer among men. Approximately 32,000 men will die of prostate cancer this year and 180,000 new cases will be diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society.

For more information, or to contact City of Hope, see their website at: www.cityofhope.org