If you’re faced with the prospect of having surgery for prostate cancer, Brigham and Women’s Center for Robotic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital can help get you back to feeling normal again.
If you and your doctor decide on surgery to treat your prostate cancer, you may be a candidate for a minimally invasive surgical procedure called robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Radical prostatectomy is the surgical removal of the prostate to treat prostate cancer. The robot is a state-of-the-art surgical system, which includes fine instruments that a trained urologist uses to surgically remove your prostate gland through several small incisions.
For most patients, potential advantages with robot prostatectomy over open radical prostatectomy include:
Decreased blood loss and decreased likelihood of blood transfusion
Improved visualization of the anatomy due to 3-D vision and increased magnification
Small incisions (less than 1/2 inch). Precise, fine surgical maneuvers guided by the surgeon
Less pain after surgery, decreasing the need for pain medications
Faster recovery. Most patients are well enough to leave the hospital less than 24 hours after surgery and resume routine activities one to two weeks after surgery
Removal of the urethral catheter five to seven days after surgery
To make an appointment, please call 617-732-6325, and select option 5.
Steven L. Chang, MD, MS, Instructor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Associate Surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Surgical Oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, delivered a health talk on prostate cancer and robotic surgery during Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital’s first Community Health Fair on November 3, 2012
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