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Posted 9/15/2008 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hi.  Brand new to forum.  I have been diagnosed and will require surgery for prostate removal.  Can someone with experience let me know if the robotic surgery is the only way to go if i have the option?  I appreciate any info and i will input specific data as i get it.  The surgery for removal is definite, though.  Thanks.
Posted 9/15/2008 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Captain,
Robotic or open will share equal results in irradicating the diease. The robotic offers shorter recovery times and less blood loss. More information from you would be helpful. You biopsy pathology numbers ~ Gleason, PSA, DRE results, etc. Surgery is not necessarily your only option. i hope you post more about your case, we have some great folks here you can lean on for support.

Tony
Posted 9/15/2008 11:34 PM (GMT 0)
Captain, let us hear more about your numbers. Sorry that you are visiting here, but it is very helpful, and I can tell you that you will get good advice from seasoned people here. You are lucky that you found the site. Di
Posted 9/15/2008 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
I think the kind of surgery you go for depends on what is available, and the experience of your surgeon.

When and where I had my RRP, robotic wasn't available. However my recovery didn't seem to be any worse than others here who have had robotic. Out of bed the evening of the operation (low blood pressure, so a bit dizzy) and one big incision instead of a bunch of little ones.
Posted 9/16/2008 12:11 AM (GMT 0)
Captain75
I have seen reports that favour both. While robotic, as Tony has pointed out, has less blood loss, less external impact and thus has a quicker recovery time (this may be as little as a week's difference), the internal surgery is the same. Many surgeons prefer to actually feel the prostate gland and its texture as they remove it (a feature lacking in robotic). My advice would be to find a very experienced surgeon and ask him his preference and most importantly, why he prefers to do it that way.
Bill
Posted 9/16/2008 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the club Captain, sorry you are here, but since you are join in the fun. Like the others, I think it would be helpful to get a clearer picture of what you are dealing with. I personally favor RRP, but there are great arguments either way. In my case there was not a local surgeon that performed DaVinci and after much study I did not see the benefit of traveling a couple hundred miles, so I opted for the RRP and never looked back. With that being said if your cancer is low grade stage one with minimal involvement robotic might be the way to go. Either way your informed decision will be correct. Understand what I am sharing is opinion only. Some of the other guys are much smarter than I. I look forward to hearing more from you.

peace and love
Dale
Posted 9/16/2008 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
HI Captain

If there is one thing I can say here is experience, experience and more experience. That is the key to what ever kind of surgery you have. You need to make up your own mind but this is my surgery journey. I wanted to have robotic because a friend had it. I was not a candidate for it so I had the open. Surgery was about 1.5 hours and was walking the same afternoon. Had next to no blood loss and did not required any blood and went home in two days. No pain meds since I left the hospital. It is becoming a faint memory now since May 2007. Lost the pads after a few months and ED is getting better.

Hope the best for you and let us know how you are doing.

Mika
Posted 9/16/2008 4:49 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome captain75!    W elcome     to   ~ HealingWell ~   and   A    Special Warm Welcome   to   You !   Knowledge gives us POWER.   POWER takes away the fear.   ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~     Click   on   link   below for important information that will help you ~ help us!!                                                                    >>   Welcome New Members ~ to HealingWell   The information (link) listed above is to help you get around the forum!     This is a journey best traveled with friends.     Welcome ~ New Friend from all the members here... on HealingWell.com     Know Your Forum Moderators v       Doting Daughter  ~   Moderator for Prostate Cancer Forum   v       James C  ~   Moderator for Prostate Cancer Forum
Posted 9/16/2008 11:15 AM (GMT 0)
Go for the best surgeon you can find. and DO shop around. i saw four surgeons. One said wait, two said RRP, one said DaVinci.  I found the stalwart institutions like Sloan Kettering liked RRP and the younger guys liked Davinci.

i had Davinci, but found the whole thing was oversold. I have had two spinal surgeries and this one hurt far more than those.  I can't imagine RRP would have been more painful.  I was up the evening of surgery - that is common for every surgery - but uncomfortable for several days. Some docs and patients fare much better on the pain scale. 

Both are fine. Both have similar side affects and there is NO rhyme or reason to why continence or ED is a problem or is not.

Don't let the style of surgery concern you too much. Go for a doc who has done hundreds and has happy patients.

welcome

Paul

Posted 9/16/2008 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Captain,
Sorry to have to welcome you here to HealingWell. My experience is much different than Paul's. Two of my friends and I experienced very little pain with the robotic surgery, but another friend had a much more painful and longer (though equally successful) recovery with the RRP. I think the best advice you have received on this thread is the one about experience. Find a surgeon who has a good record with PCa, and you'll feel much more confidant with your decision.
Good luck, and keep us all posted.
Best,
Mike
Posted 9/17/2008 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Just to weigh in on open for robotic, I went with open. Dr. Catalona, my surgeon, has done more open surgeries than anyone in the country...over 5000. Blood loss was nominal, recovery was the same as everyone I read about on here who had robotic. As my surgeon said to me...choose 5 one inch scars or one 5 inch scar. My scar does not offend my sense of vanity at all. I was walking the halls of the hospital the morning after my surgery and I was lifting my suitcase into the overhead bin on my first business fligth 5 1/2 weeks post op.

Good luck with the decision process
Posted 9/17/2008 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
One option not mentioned here yet is Laproscopic (non robotic). I had mine at MSK and it went well. I will echo what everyone else is saying. Experience experience experience.
Posted 9/17/2008 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Aye ya Captain,
I opted for the robotic only because I wanted to minimize the down time away from work. It isn't any less invasive as open surgery is. My surgeon uses both but prefers the robotic because he can see much closer where it counts (like margins and nerves) due to the 10X magnification. But they do lose the "tactical" feel that many surgeons like with the open method. Just don't be afraid to explore the many other options available to you. Chose what you feel is right for you, not what an oncologist, medical oncologist or a surgeon will suggest as they are only experienced with their specific field of treatment. Talk to all of them and then decide for yourself. Remember you won't hurt their feelings if you don't choose their treatment recommendations.

Good luck
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