At Bakson Multispecialty Hospital Prostatectomy includes a number of surgical procedures to remove part or all of the prostate gland. This gland is located in the lower abdomen of men, below the urinary bladder. It is most often done to treat localized prostate cancer. It can also be used to treat a blocked urethra caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlargement of the prostate glands.

The main type of surgery for prostate cancer is a radical prostatectomy. In this operation, the surgeon removes the entire prostate gland plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles. The different types of operations include:

1. In the more traditional approach to prostatectomy, called an open prostatectomy, the surgeon operates through a single long skin incision (cut) to remove the prostate and nearby tissues. This type of surgery is done less often than in the past.
2. In a laparoscopic prostatectomy, the surgeon makes several smaller incisions and uses special long surgical tools to remove the prostate. The surgeon either holds the tools directly, or uses a control panel to precisely move robotic arms that hold the tools. This approach to prostatectomy has become more common in recent years. Our experienced surgeons, using the laparoscopic radical prostatectomy can give results similar to the open approach.
3. In the robotic prostatectomy, the laparoscopic surgery is done using a robotic system. The surgeon sits at a control panel in the operating room and moves robotic arms to operate through several small incisions in the patient’s abdomen.Robotic prostatectomy has advantages over the open approach in terms of less pain, blood loss, and recovery time. But in terms of the side effects men are most concerned about, such as urinary or erection problems, there doesn’t seem to be a difference between robotic prostatectomy and other approaches.
4. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) This operation is more often used to treat men with non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). But it is also sometimes used in men with advanced prostate cancer to help relieve symptoms, such as trouble urinating. (It is not used to try to cure the cancer.)

Risks of prostate surgery

The risks with any type of radical prostatectomy are much like those of any major surgery. Problems during or shortly after the operation can include:

• Reactions to anesthesia
• Bleeding from the surgery
• Blood clots in the legs or lungs
• Damage to nearby organs
• Infections at the surgery site.

Side effects of prostate surgery

The major possible side effects of radical prostatectomy are

1. Urinary incontinence (being unable to control urine) and 
2. Erectile dysfunction (impotence; problems getting or keeping erections).

These side effects can also occur with other forms of prostate cancer treatment.

After surgery for prostate cancer, normal bladder control usually returns within several weeks or months. This recovery usually occurs slowly over time.

There can also be no ejaculation of semen with orgasm, loss of fertility since the vas deferens is cut during surgery, lymphedema in the legs or genital areas due to removal of many lymph nodes around the prostate and length of the penis may decrease due to shortening of the urethra.