What Is A Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy?
Dr. Guru answers the question: 'What Is A Radical Retropubic Prostectomy?'
March 16, 2009 -- Question: What is a radical retropubic prostatectomy?
Answer: A radical retropubic prostatectomy is one of the approaches which is a gold standard approach used for operating for prostate cancer. Radical retropubic means you approach the prostate through the abdomen or the belly of the patient below the bellybutton. And retropubic is the pubic bone behind which you have to operate so you'd approach this anteriorly from your pubic bone below and operating from the bellybutton below, just to get your orientation.
Retropubic prostatectomy radical -- radical means when you do a operation where you are performing the operation for cancer purposes and trying to remove all the cancer. This is what you consider a radical retropubic prostatectomy. Now, radical retropubic prostatectomy can be performed where three ways: open, which was the gold standard, laparoscopic where we use sticks to operate through small tiny incision, or with robotic assistance where a robot assists with a similar approach as laparoscopic.
