Purpose
To compare perioperative and functional outcomes between Improved (port-free) single-site robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy(pf-ssRARP) and Standard multi-port Robot-assisted Radical Prostatectomy༈MPRARP༉.
Methods
A total of 372 consecutive patients underwent RARAP using the da Vinci Si® robotic surgical system .Group I (n = 210) included patients undergoing pf-ssRARP and Group II (n = 162) included patients undergoing MPRARP.Demographics and perioperative data including postoperative recovery outcomes were recorded and compared between the two groups.
Results
Overall mean operative time was significantly shorter with the pf-ssRARP compared to the MPRARP (p < 0.05).The length of hospitalization after the pf-ssRARP was shorter(p < 0.05).In Group I, the positive surgical margin rate was 15.2%, while in Group II, the positive margin rate was 33.3% (p < 0.05).The rate of instant urinary continence was significantly higher in Group I than in Group II(p < 0.05).The percentage of urinary continence was higher in the pf-ssRARP than in the MPRARP,at 6 months post-surgery (p < 0.05) and 9 months post-surgery (p < 0.05).There was no significant difference in the proportion of erectile function in the pf-ssRARP and MPRARP groups at the time of reaching the endpoint of this study(p> 0.05).The two groups were comparable in terms of total hospitalization costs(p < 0.05).
Conclusion
The Improved (port-free) single-site robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a practical and easy technique to implement in clinical practice.