The Impact of Prostate Size, Median Lobe, and Prior Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Intervention on Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy: Technique and Outcomes

BackgroundLarge prostate size, median lobes, and prior benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) surgery may pose technical challenges during robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP).ObjectiveTo describe technical modifications to overcome BPH sequelae and associated outcomes.Design, settings, and participantsA retrospective study of prospective data on 951 RALP procedures performed from September 2005 to November 2010 was conducted. Outcomes were analyzed by prostate weight, prior BPH surgical intervention (n = 59), and median lobes >1 cm (n = 42).Surgical procedureRALP.MeasurementsEstimated blood loss (EBL), blood transfusions, operative time, positive surgical margin (PSM), and urinary and sexual function were measured.Results and limitationsIn unadjusted analysis, men with larger prostates and median lobes experienced higher EBL (213.5 vs 176.5 ml; p < 0.001 and 236.4 vs 193.3 ml; p = 0.002), and larger prostates were associated with more transfusions (4 vs 1; p = 0.037). Operative times were longer for men with larger prostates (164.2 vs 149.1 min; p = 0.002), median lobes (185.8 vs 155.0 min; p = 0.004), and prior BPH surgical interventions (170.2 vs 155.4 min; p = 0.004). Men with prior BPH interventions experienced more prostate base PSM (5.1% vs 1.2%; p = 0.018) but similar overall PSM. In adjusted analyses, the presence of median lobes increased both EBL (p = 0.006) and operative times (p < 0.001), while prior BPH interventions also prolonged operative times (p = 0.014). However, prostate size did not affect EBL, PSM, or recovery of urinary or sexual function.ConclusionsAlthough BPH characteristics prolonged RALP procedure times and increased EBL, prostate size did not affect PSM or urinary and sexual function.