If you are preparing for robotic prostate surgery, you may be wondering what happens to your bladder once the prostate has been removed. Your bladder stays in place. Instead, your surgeon reconnects it directly to the remaining urethra so you can continue to pass urine normally after healing. A temporary catheter helps drain urine while … Read more
If you are having robotic radical prostatectomy, you may be wondering what happens to the urethra that runs through your prostate. During the operation, your surgeon separates the prostate from the bladder and divides the urethra just below the gland so the prostate can be removed. The section of urethra inside the prostate is removed … Read more
If you are having robotic radical prostatectomy, you may be wondering what happens to the seminal vesicles that sit just behind your prostate. In most cases, your surgeon removes them at the same time as the prostate because cancer can sometimes spread into these glands. The seminal vesicles normally produce much of the fluid that … Read more
Not always. Your surgeon may remove pelvic lymph nodes during robotic prostatectomy if your cancer has a meaningful risk of spreading to them. This is called a pelvic lymph-node dissection (PLND) and can help detect cancer that scans may not have picked up. If your lymph nodes are clear, this helps confirm your cancer stage. … Read more
If you have locally advanced prostate cancer, you may think surgery is no longer possible. That is not necessarily true. Your cancer has grown beyond the prostate but has not necessarily spread to distant parts of your body, so surgery may still be an option in carefully selected cases. Robotic prostatectomy may form part of … Read more
If your prostate cancer returns after previous treatment, you may still have treatment options aimed at controlling or potentially curing the cancer. One option for carefully selected men is salvage robotic prostatectomy, which involves removing your prostate after an earlier treatment has not provided lasting cancer control. It is most commonly considered after radiotherapy, although … Read more
If your prostate cancer returns after radiotherapy, you may still be able to have prostate surgery in carefully selected cases. This is called salvage radical prostatectomy and aims to remove cancer that has returned within or around your prostate. However, surgery after radiotherapy is more complex because radiation can cause scarring, fibrosis and reduced flexibility … Read more
Yes, in many cases you can still have robotic prostate surgery after TURP, HoLEP or another procedure for an enlarged prostate. However, previous surgery can change your anatomy and create scar tissue, making some parts of the operation more technically challenging. Research suggests that robotic prostatectomy after TURP or HoLEP is feasible, although previous surgery … Read more
If you have prostate cancer and a large prostate, you may wonder whether robotic surgery is still possible. A larger gland can make the operation more technically challenging, but prostate size alone does not usually mean that robotic surgery is unsuitable. Your surgeon may have less working space and may need to adjust parts of … Read more
If you have been told your prostate cancer is high risk, you may wonder whether surgery is still possible. For some people, it can be. If your cancer is localised or selected locally advanced without distant spread, radical prostatectomy may still be considered depending on your health and cancer extent. Robotic surgery describes how the … Read more
