{"id":1365,"date":"2025-04-01T15:58:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T13:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/?post_type=procedures&#038;p=1365"},"modified":"2026-08-20T15:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:40:07","slug":"robotic-assisted-laparoscopic-prostatectomy","status":"publish","type":"procedures","link":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/procedures\/robotic-assisted-laparoscopic-prostatectomy\/","title":{"rendered":"Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy The prostate is a plum-sized organ found only in men. The prostate lies just below the bladder and surrounds the urethra (bladder tube). The prostate produces nutrients for your sperm and contributes some parts of the fluid that you ejaculate. The prostate is removed with the use of keyhole surgery and by using the Da Vinci\u00ae robotic system. The procedure is performed for prostate cancer. How is the procedure performed? The operation is done in the hospital under general anaesthesia. Once you are asleep your legs will be\u00a0put in stirrups and your legs will be opened slightly.6 Small holes of 1 &#8211; 3cm will be made in your abdomen that will allow the instruments to pass into\u00a0the abdomen. One incision is made right above the belly button where the telescope will be inserted.This telescope will transmit and enlarge the inside view onto monitors. The instruments and\u00a0telescope are connected to the console with 3 or 4 robotic arms. The instruments have a greater\u00a0range of movement than the human hand and with the help of the 3D camera with the magnification\u00a0of the system, the operation can be performed with precise accuracy.There will be a doctor and a sister sitting next to you. The urologist performing the operation will sit\u00a0on the console system in the same room but some distance away from you. The robot is not doing the operation &#8211; The urologist is doing it using the robot!! After the operation, you will have a catheter in your bladder draining the urine from the bladder into\u00a0a bag. The catheter will remain in your bladder after you have been discharged from the hospital.Your urologist will remove the catheter after a week \u2013 please phone the doctor\u2019s rooms to make an\u00a0appointment.You will also have a drainage tube coming out of one of the holes. The drainage tube will stay in for\u00a0one day.You will go to the high care for one night. Thereafter, you will go to the ward where you will be encouraged to walk, and you can eat. If all goes well, you will be able to go home 2 \u2013 3 days after your operation. What are the other treatment options for localised prostate cancer? Robotic-assisted prostatectomy is one of the treatment options for prostate cancer. Treatment options will be discussed by your urologist. The type of treatment for your cancer is influenced by several factors like your stage of cancer, previous surgery, and other medical conditions. Open radical retropubic prostatectomy, a cut is made on the lower abdomen to remove the\u00a0prostate. This was the traditional method of treatment that is still performed very often. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, small incisions is made to pass long instruments and a\u00a0camera. The prostate is removed inside the abdominal cavity. This procedure is only\u00a0performed by very few urologists in the country. No urologist in our practice performs\u00a0laparoscopic prostatectomies. Brachytherapy, radiotherapy seeds is implanted into the prostate to radiate the prostate from\u00a0inside and kill the cancer cells. External beam radiotherapy, radiotherapy beams are sent into the prostate from outside to\u00a0kill the cancer cells.\u00a0 Active surveillance. Sometimes prostate cancer is exceptionally low grade and treatment\u00a0might not be necessary or not immediately. You will be monitored regularly, and the prostate\u00a0biopsy will be done again after 1 year to check for any cancer progression. If at any stage it\u00a0seems like your cancer is growing or you are not happy with the option, one of the other\u00a0treatment options will be performed. What are the advantages of robotic surgery compared to traditional open prostate removal? Less painful procedure: because there are no big abdominal wounds but small incisions for the\u00a0instruments. You will only need some pain killers after the procedure to take when necessary.\u00a0 Normal activities can be resumed sooner, and you can return to work sooner compared to\u00a0traditional open surgery.\u00a0 Less blood loss than open surgery. Very rarely a blood transfusion is needed after robotic\u00a0surgery.\u00a0 Shorter hospital stays. After robotic surgery, you can go home after 2 to 3 days. After\u00a0traditional robotic surgery patients normally stay in hospital for 3 to 5 days.\u00a0 Earlier removal of your catheter. Your catheter will stay in for 7 days after a robotic\u00a0prostatectomy. With traditional open surgery, your catheter will be removed after 14 days. What are the side effects and possible complications of the procedure? Urinary incontinence. All forms of prostate surgery for prostate cancer have a risk of\u00a0temporary urine leakage. The leakage improves over time and you will be given pelvic floor\u00a0exercise to help you train the bladder again. Erectile dysfunction. The nerves responsible to get erection and sustain erections can be\u00a0damaged during surgery and cause erectile dysfunction. The risk of erectile dysfunction is\u00a0much higher than the risk of leaking. Many factors may play a role in the return rate of\u00a0erections, like age, degree of preoperative erectile function and time. There are treatment\u00a0options if you have problems with erections \u2013 medication (Viagra, Cialis and Levitra) the use\u00a0of penile vacuum erection device or penile injections. If your problem persists, we can also\u00a0implant a penile prosthesis. Your penis may appear to be shorter after the surgery. With removal of the prostate the\u00a0urethra is shorter. The length of your penis will improve as your erections return, either\u00a0normal with medication or a penile vacuum device.\u00a0 Bleeding. Blood loss associated with this type of surgery is normally little. If for some reason\u00a0you do loose more blood than normally, we will have to give you a blood transfusion, BUT the\u00a0risk is exceptionally low.\u00a0 No ejaculation. Because of the removal of the structures which produce seminal fluid\u00a0(seminal vesicles), you will not be able to father a child again.\u00a0 Damage to other organs. Organs and other structures that are close to the prostate might be\u00a0injured. The operation is done under continuous visualisation and the risk is very low. These\u00a0organs and structures include the bladder, rectum, small bowel, blood vessels, nerves and\u00a0kidney tubes (ureters). These injuries, if occur will be fixed immediately.\u00a0 Scarring can develop at the bladder connection. This might cause weakening of the urinary\u00a0stream and might<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"elementor_theme","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1365","procedures","type-procedures","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/procedures\/1365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/procedures"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/procedures"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/procedures\/1365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1839,"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/procedures\/1365\/revisions\/1839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gautengurologie.co.za\/WP0826\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}