The potential of robotic assistance in the surgical treatment of localised prostate cancer [Apport potentiel de l'assistance robotisée dans le traitement chirurgical du cancer de prostate localisé]

摘要

Cancer of the prostate is the commonest form of cancer in the male and it is increasingly being diagnosed by screening at an earlier stage. This means that we should try to limit the side effects of surgical treatment as much as possible. Total prostatectomy is recognised as a procedure which is effective in treating the cancer but also for its high rate of complications (incontinence and erectile dysfunction) with a significant effect on the quality of life. Surgery has continued to develop less invasive techniques, first with the adoption of laparoscopy and now with the Da Vinci? system of robot-assisted surgery. In this article we aim to describe the results obtained with this treatment, both in removal of the cancer and on function. In the hands of a suitably trained surgeon, robot-assisted surgery can reduce the operative risk of bleeding and also shorten the hospital stay. The precision of its manoeuvrability facilitates dissection that spares the structures surrounding the prostate and seems to allow a rapid return of continence and possibly of erectile function when the neurovascular bundles are preserved.