Department of Urologic Surgery

Radical prostatectomy has become the preferred treatment for most men with localized carcinoma of the prostate because of its proven track record and the marked decrease in side effects which has occurred over the last decade.  Our reported results with open radical retropubic prostatectomy at Vanderbilt University Hospital are among the best in the world.  However, the da Vinci® surgical robot (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA) offers vision and surgical precision unachievable with open surgery.  The laparoscopic robitic assisted approach is less invasive and associated with less bleeding than the traditional open surgical procedures. The surgeon can obtain significant magnification of the operative field with three dimensional viewing.  The mechanical arms for the robotic system are controlled directly by the surgeon and provide precision and freedom of wrist movement far greater than can be achieved with the human hand.  These properties may allow the surgeon to separate critical nerves and muscles from the prostate to decrease side effects such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence while also allowing complete removal of the cancer.