Men, the robots are coming for your prostate. And that’s probably a good thing. A British surgeon is offering a form of prostate surgery that, for the first time, virtually guarantees that men will stay continent. This is thanks to a robot in what, despite their increasing presence in hospitals, is believed to be the first operation that is impossible to perform without such assistance. One of the biggest barriers to men agreeing to have their potentially cancerous prostate surgically removed is concern about side-effects. “For most men continence is No 1 after cancer control on their list of concerns,” Christopher Eden, right, said. “Potency follows pretty soon after.” Both erectile dysfunction and incontinence are often an unavoidable consequence of prostate surgery, which involves cutting
Surgeons are using robots to improve prostate surgery outcomes. Professor Christopher Eden, a urology surgeon at London's Princess Grace Hospital, said erectile dysfunction and incontinence were often unavoidable side effects of prostate surgery. But, unlike human surgeons, robots can approach the prostate from within the patient's pelvis, making such complications less likely. The new technique, called retzius-sparing prostatectomy, has been pioneered by Dr. Eden, along with other surgeons in Italy and South Korea. Research on 200 of the Italian surgeon's patients showed that 90% were continent after the procedure, said Tim Windle, policy manager at Prostate Cancer UK.