The trial planned to enroll 200 patients, but an interim analysis at 107 patients met criteria for futility and the trial was closed. For patients completing the protocol to 2 yr, potency was recovered in 32 of 45 (71%) of SNG and 14 of 21 (67%) of controls (p=0.777). By intent-to-treat analysis, potency recovered in 32 of 66 (48.5%) of SNG and 14 of 41 (34%) of controls (p=0.271). No differences were seen in time to potency or quality of life scores for ED and urinary function. Limitations included slower-than-expected accrual and poor compliance with ED therapy: < 65% for VED and < 40% for injections.

The addition of SNG to a UNS RP did not improve potency at 2 yr following surgery.

This study was comparing men who were going nerve sparing prostatectomy on one side and adding a nerve graft on the other side. Nerve grafting takes more time and has some side effects depending on which nerve you use. This study, like many before it, did not find a benefit in performing a nerve graft.

I've always felt that this wwould be the case since the neurovascualr bundle is a series of small microscopic nerves, not a large nerve that you can see.

One in five men who undergoes prostate surgery to treat cancer later regrets the decision, a new study shows. And surprisingly, regret is highest among men who opt for robotic prostatectomy, a minimally invasive surgery that is growing in popularity as a treatment.

The research, published in the medical journal European Urology, is the latest to suggest that technological advances in prostate surgery haven't necessarily translated to better results for the men on which it is performed. It also adds to growing concerns that men are being misled about the real risks and benefits of robotic surgical procedures used to treat prostate cancer.

This was an interesting article about prostate cancer satisfaction rates. The important point was that patients who underwent robotic prostatectomy were not as satisfied as patients that underwent conventionally surgery. It is interesting to read the comments as well.

The important things that I have done that I believe give me a higher satisfaction rate is to better explain how the procedure is still a major surgery. I know that my patients expect less problems and I believe they do have less problems. The important thing is to have them understand it is still a major surgery that is similar to open surgery in what we are trying to accomplish.

That being said, once expectations are realistic, most patienst are satisfied. I do notice that the satisfaction rate is often higher in patients that have worse than expected incontinence. After several weeks to months, once the urinary control is back to normal people have a much higher satisfaction rate.

"Robotic surgery is more efficient and precise than either open or laparoscopic surgery for tumors confined to the kidney," says Bhayani, assistant professor of surgery and a leader in the field of robotic surgery. "Rather than operate with two hands, I can simultaneously control four robotic instruments with mechanical "wrists" that rotate more than 360 degrees, giving me far greater maneuverability than human hands or laparoscopic instruments." Bhayani led a team at Washington University to develop the procedure for kidney tumors.

Dr Bhayani is a friend and excellent surgeon. Check out his website for a video clip of the partial nephrectomy. I was recently invited as a guest faculty at his conference (First Annual World Robotic Renal Symposium) and had the privilege of watching him perform 2 live surgeries, a robotic nephrectomy and a robotic partial nephrectomy. Both went very well.

Men who work at desk jobs are more likely to develop prostate cancer than manual workers, a study indicates.

Researchers found low levels of physical activity in the workplace can significantly raise the risk of cancer, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.

The study determined men who worked as teachers or in office jobs were much more likely to get cancer than those who spend much of their day on their feet, such as laborers, bakers and barbers.

Specifically, men who spend their day working at a desk are 30 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than manual workers, the study found.

This study shows that men with sedentery jobs are at increased risk or prostate cancer. I wouldn't advise changing careers, but adding exercise to your daily regimen should help prevent illnesses and probably helps prevent recurrences and delays progression in men who have cancer.

Robotic cystectomy was performed in 40 men and 10 women at a mean age of 63.6 years. Of the 50 patients, 66% had Stage pT2 or less, 14% had pT3 disease, and 20% Stage N+ disease. No patient had positive surgical margins.

This abstract is from one of the leading centers for robotic cystectomy. They show relatively low morbidity for a major surgery. I have done about 20 cystectomies robotically and have switched almost all of my major bladder cancer surgery to this approach. I think I am performing the same oncological operation as open, but have seen less blood less and quicker recoveries.

This was a study that showed that if you had more cancer in the prostarte, you had a higher risk of teh cancer coming back after surgery. Although this is obvious, it is important to show these type of things with studies.

Would I would like to see is if patients with the same gleason score and stage (meaning the extent of cancer spread) have different rates of recurrences.

For example, 2 men with organ confined prostate cancer that both have gleason 6 cancers. If 1 man has 1% of tumor volume in his prostate and the other 30%, I would imagine the man with 30% would be more likely to have a recurrence. I am not aware of any studies that have looked at this.

This one study shows that men that did active surveillance, needed therapy about half of the time. The results seemed similar for both groups. My main concern is that we do not know the cancer characteristics of the patients. It is possible that the active surveillance patients had less cancer than the treated patients and should have done better.

I also think that waiting 3 years to treat someone may later the treatment approach and possibly lead to more side effects after therapy.

This one study did not reveal any benefit from Vitamin D. There have been others that do show a benefit. This is why it is important to continue to do studies and use scientific method to assess things.

I ask patients to take a multivitamin a day, but not extra Vitamin D.

Prostate cancer control after radical prostatectomy improves with increasing surgeon experience, regardless of patients' risk, say US scientists who suggest that the primary reason for recurrence in low-risk patients is inadequate surgical technique.

The team, led by Eric Klein from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, previously discovered that open radical prostatectomy has a learning curve, and other studies have indicated that patients treated by higher-volume surgeons have shorter hospital stays, fewer peri-operative complications, and better urinary continence than those treated by lower-volume surgeons.

This study was done for open radical prostatectomy patients.

My guess is that we will have similar results for robotic surgeons, but I think novice robotic surgeons that have vast experience with laparoscopic or open prostate cancer surgery will have better results than those who do not.

This study showed an increase risk of colon cancer after urinary tract cancers.

The surgical margins were similar between the two groups. No significant difference was found in the postoperative urinary bother score or the interval to social or perfect continence between the two groups.

The results of this study have shown that the presence of a median lobe does not alter the outcomes in patients who undergo robot-assisted prostatectomy.

The median lobe can be a scary finding for the novice robotic surgeon. My team at NBI has developed several techniques to handle median lobes while preserving as much bladder as possible.

I have put a video from about 18 months ago on google video showing one of our techniques:

I have changed by preoperative management to include a cystoscopy about 1 year ago on all patients to assess for prostate shape. I can now predict these in all patients.

I am a little surprised that these patients did not have differences except more needed bladder neck repairs. I think these patients are more likely to have bladder symptoms since most have obstruction and over active bladders to start with. In my series, they usually get their catheters out in 5 days instead of 3, and I warn them of expecting more urinary problems in the short term than others.

Patients at risk of prostate cancer and thos with prostate cancer should reduce their fat intake.

I usually use the PCA 3 test for men who have had a negative biopsy and we are considering performing a second one. I usualy use it for men with high grade PIN after one biopsy. If the PCA 3 is positive, I usually perform a second biopsy. I have not looked at my data to see if the above correlation exists, but that would be interesting.

I also am not sure if you can use PCA 3 tests that are taken a few months apart to mean anything. For example, would a rise in PCA 3 be expected if a man develops cancer or the cancer is growing?

The only study I am aware of does not sure a large difference between the open and minimally invasive prostate cancer surgeries.

I agree with Dr. Sawczuk, a friend and colleague, that more experienced surgeons are more likely to have better results. The surgeon is important, probably more so than the technique. I think the best way to analyze this would have been to set up a study looking at high volume robotic vs. lap vs. open surgeons andhaving a 3rd party analyze the results. I do not think this is something that would ever be done.

My feeling after performing many open prostate cancer surgeries, a few laparoscopic ones, and over 400 robotic ones is that robotics gives me the ability to perform more accurate surgery, and the difference is more pronounced with more difficult cases.

Being able to remove the catheter within 3 days routinely without needing X-Rays would be difficult for me to achieve with open or laparoscopic surgery.

Functional results with regard to erectile function and urinary continence after prostate sparing cystectomy are good. Oncological results have been promising, but need to be confirmed after longer followup and in larger trials.

For men in need of a bladder removal for bladder cancer, my practice has always consisted of removing the entire prostate as well. This is what I learned at Indiana and have continued to do in NJ. As far as I know, urologic oncologists in the USA all agree on this.

In Europe I have read several studies that have left the prostate capsule or most of the prostate in place. I think you will see a higher rate of pelvic recurrences and bladder cancer recurrence in the prostate, as well as new prostate cancers this way. I do agree that men will have less side effects in regards to erections and continence potentially.

I have been performing robotic cystectomies for about 3 years now and feel that I can perform a more careful operation around the erection nerves and urinary muscles. I hope to improve on our past results while still removing the entire prostate wih the bladder.

I