Comparisons of the Perioperative, Functional, and Oncologic Outcomes After Robot-Assisted Versus Pure Extraperitoneal Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy

Robotic assistance using an extraperitoneal approach offers better results than pure laparoscopy in terms of operative time, blood loss, and hospital stay. The robotic approach independently improves the potency recovery but not the continence recovery. When strict indications of nerve-sparing techniques are respected, RALP gives better results than LRP in terms of surgical margins in pathologically organ-confined disease. Longer follow-up is justified to reach conclusions on oncologic outcomes.