Lee:
I think it was you who coined the phrase "Knowledge is Power". What I recognize is that all who post here are sincere in their belief; however, not all have as extensive knowledge as others. There is a misconception by many that the open procedure is not as effective as the robotic/laparascopic procedure. So many folks simply write off the open procedure from the get-go. However, if people did a little more research and studied the clinical and research acumen of urologists like Walsh and Partin at Johns Hopkins and Scardino and Eastham at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, all open procedure surgeons, they would realize that the open procedure has excellent results in the proper hands. I think those of us who studied the total picture have adequately brought our knowledge to the attention of those who were unaware.
At the end of the day I concluded the type of procedure was not the critical factor. Choosing the finest surgeon in terms of experience and credentials, be he rob/lap or open, is the #1 criteria when making your selection.
Post Edited (SJC) : 10/18/2006 12:17:59 PM (GMT-6)