Bertrand Guillonneau

LAPAROSCOPIC RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY: THE MONTSOURIS TECHNIQUE

PURPOSE Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy has become standard at our institution based on experience with 260 consecutive cases operated on between January 1998 and December 1999. In view of the favorable short-term outcomes we describe our standardized laparoscopic radical prostatectomy technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two urologists trained in open retropubic radical prostatectomy and laparoscopy combined their experience to develop a specific technique of nonincisional radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. Patients presented with clinical stages T1b to T2 prostate cancer and tumor size was approximately 18 to 130 gm. Operations were performed by 1 senior surgeon and 1 assistant, with the help of a voice controlled robot and with the patient under general anesthesia. The 2, 10 mm. ports and 3, 5 mm. ports were placed in the umbilicus and iliac fossa. The laparoscopic procedure was performed transperitoneally, combining anterograde and retrograde approaches in 7 standardized steps. Urethrovesical anastomosis was performed with 3-zero interrupted sutures tied intracorporeally. Technical details were compiled, summarized and illustrated with schematic views. RESULTS Operating time was approximately 3 hours for the last 120 cases. Estimated average blood loss was 250 ml. with a transfusion rate of less than 1%. The conversion rate was 0%. Postoperative pain was minimal and analgesics were generally not required by postoperative day 2. The accuracy of dissection and sutures allowed patients to be discharged home without urethral catheterization starting on postoperative day 3. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is now not only feasible, but more importantly reproducible. Each step has been checked and validated, and the procedure is standardized and has definitively replaced the retropubic approach in our practice.

LAPAROSCOPIC RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY: THE MONTSOURIS EXPERIENCE

PURPOSE We evaluate our experience with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between February 1, 1998 and May 1, 1999, 120 consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Morbidity of the first 40 (group 1), next 40 (group 2) and last 40 (group 3) procedures was compared. Oncological data were assessed by pathological examination and postoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA). Functional results were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire for the first 60 patients and potency was assessed in the last 40. RESULTS Mean operating time plus or minus standard deviation was 239+/-59 minutes (range 150 to 450) for the series, and 282, 247 and 231, respectively, for groups 1, 2 and 3. Surgical conversion was necessary in 7 cases (5.8%) overall, including 10% (4) in group 1, 7.5% (3) in group 2 and 0% in group 3. Mean intraoperative bleeding was 402+/-293 ml. (range 50 to 1,500) in the series, and 534, 517 and 277, respectively, for groups 1, 2 and 3. The transfusion rate was 10% overall, and 15%, 12.5% and 2.5%, respectively, in groups 1, 2 and 3. The reoperation rate was 1.7%. Mean postoperative bladder catheterization time was 6.6+/-2.4 days. The positive and questionable surgical margin rate was 15%. Pathological tumor stage was pT2a in 4 specimens (11%), pT2b in 11 (16%), pT3a in 0 and pT3b in 3 (50%) with positive surgical margins. PSA assays were available in 94 patients with a mean postoperative followup of 2.2 months (range 1 to 12). Serum PSA was 0.1 ng./ml. or less in 89 men (94.7%). The continence rate at 6 months postoperatively was 72% among the first 60 patients. Of 20 group 3 patients who were sexually active preoperatively 9 (45%) reported postoperative spontaneous erections. The overall cost of retropubic radical prostatectomy was about

A Critical Analysis of the Current Knowledge of Surgical Anatomy Related to Optimization of Cancer Control and Preservation of Continence and Erection in Candidates for Radical Prostatectomy

1,237 more than that for laparoscopy. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is feasible and perioperative morbidity is low. Based on our postoperative followup, oncological results are identical to those of conventional surgery and functional results are encouraging.

Pathological Upgrading and Up Staging With Immediate Repeat Biopsy in Patients Eligible for Active Surveillance

CONTEXT Detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the prostate and adjacent tissues is mandatory during radical prostatectomy to ensure reliable oncologic and functional outcomes. OBJECTIVE To review critically and to summarize the available literature on surgical anatomy of the prostate and adjacent structures involved in cancer control, erectile function, and urinary continence. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A search of the PubMed database was performed using the keywords radical prostatectomy, anatomy, neurovascular bundle, fascia, pelvis, and sphincter. Relevant articles and textbook chapters were reviewed, analyzed, and summarized. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Anatomy of the prostate and the adjacent tissues varies substantially. The fascia surrounding the prostate is multilayered, sometimes either fused with the prostate capsule or clearly separated from the capsule as a reflection of interindividual variations. The neurovascular bundle (NVB) is situated between the fascial layers covering the prostate. The NVB is composed of numerous nerve fibers superimposed on a scaffold of veins, arteries, and variable amounts of adipose tissue surrounding almost the entire lateral and posterior surfaces of the prostate. The NVB is also in close, cage-like contact to the seminal vesicles. The external urethral sphincter is a complex structure in close anatomic and functional relationship to the pelvic floor, and its fragile innervation is in close association to the prostate apex. Finally, the shape and size of the prostate can significantly modify the anatomy of the NVB, the urethral sphincter, the dorsal vascular complex, and the pubovesical/puboprostatic ligaments. CONCLUSIONS The surgical anatomy of the prostate and adjacent tissues involved in radical prostatectomy is complex. Precise knowledge of all relevant anatomic structures facilitates surgical orientation and dissection during radical prostatectomy and ideally translates into both superior rates of cancer control and improved functional outcomes postoperatively.

Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: Technical and Early Oncological Assessment of 40 Operations

PURPOSE Active surveillance with selective delayed intervention is a treatment regimen used in patients with low risk prostate cancer. Decision making is based on pretreatment prostate specific antigen, clinical stage and prostate biopsy results. We reviewed our experience with immediate repeat biopsy in patients eligible for active surveillance with selective delayed intervention. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review was done of the records of consecutive patients who underwent repeat biopsy within 3 months of a first positive biopsy from March 2002 to June 2007. Patients were considered eligible if they had prostate specific antigen less than 10 ng/ml, clinical stage T2a or less, Gleason pattern 3 or less, 3 or fewer positive cores and no single core with 50% or greater cancer involvement. RESULTS A total of 104 patients met eligibility criteria. Of the 104 repeat biopsies performed 27 (26%) were negative, 59 (57%) had a Gleason score of 6 or less and 17 (16%) had a Gleason score of 7. One patient had a Gleason score of 9, while 10 of 104 (10%) had greater than 3 cores involved on repeat biopsy and 12 (12%) had 50% or greater involvement of at least 1 core. Of 104 cases (27%) 28 were upgraded and/or up staged. Treated cases that were upgraded and/or up staged were more likely to show higher pathological stage and grade at radical prostatectomy than those that were not (p = 0.003 and p = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Immediate repeat biopsy in cases of active surveillance with selective delayed intervention resulted in 27% being upgraded or up staged and those were more likely to show higher grade and stage disease at radical prostatectomy. We recommend repeat biopsy because it improved our discrimination of who are the best candidates for active surveillance with selective delayed intervention.

An Operative and Anatomic Study to Help in Nerve Sparing during Laparoscopic and Robotic Radical Prostatectomy

Objective: To evaluate the technical feasibility, oncological efficacy and intraoperative and postoperative morbidity of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Method: We describe an original technique of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy performed in 40 patients between 26th January and 12th October, 1998. Results: Radical prostatectomy was performed entirely by laparoscopy in 35 patients (87.5%) and only one conversion was performed in the last 26 patients (4%). Pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed in the light of preoperative staging data in 14 patients (35%). The median total operating time was 270 min. The only major complication was a rectal injury (patient 8), sutured laparoscopically with an uneventful postoperative course. Postoperative vesical catheterization lasted an average of 7.65 days. Seven patients were transfused (17.5%) with an average of 2.8 units of packed cells (range: 2–3). The reduction of postoperative pain is an element allowing for a rapid discharge of the patients by the 3rd postoperative day. The oncological results were as follows: 36 patients had a pT2 tumor (90%); prostate tumor was staged as N0 in 14 cases and NX in 26 cases. Surgical margins were negative in 33 patients (82.5%). Two patients had a doubtful resection margin (1 at the apex and 1 at the bladder neck) and 5 patients had positive margins. The last PSA level was undetectable (<0.1 ng/ml) in 26 (89.7%) of the 29 patients in whom PSA level was available more than 1 month after the operation. Functional results are not yet available and will be published later. Conclusions: Radical prostatectomy is an operation which can be routinely performed by laparoscopy by a team experienced with this technique. Operative and postoperative morbidity was low. Short-term oncological data appear identical to the results of conventional retropubic surgery. The improvement of operative visibility was considerable allowing a much more precise dissection. The laparoscopic approach appears to represent a technical improvement of the radical prostatectomy if the functional results of this operation improve parallel to the quality of dissection. A long-term follow-up is needed to define definitively the place of this new approach to radical prostatectomy.

The surgical learning curve for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE To provide a detailed description of the steps involved in a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in relation to the complex neurovascular anatomy of the male pelvis. AIM AND HYPOTHESIS: We aimed at delineating the neurovascular anatomy to assist in nerve preservation during laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomies. METHODS A team of urologists and an anatomist performed anatomic dissections of 12 male cadavers using a combination of laparoscopic equipment, magnification, and open surgical dissection. Each step involved in laparoscopic prostatectomy was reviewed in relation to the possible impact the step could have on the neurovascular bundles. RESULTS Dissections were performed systematically to mimic various steps of laparoscopic and robotic prostatectomy. The neurovascular bundles were identified and correlated with video images of actual surgery. This enabled us to construct computer simulations and show the actual nerves on the operative pictures. We specially unraveled the relationship between neurovascular bundles and lateral pelvic and Denonvilliers fascias, both of which enclose and hide these important structures. The course of the bundles was traced from its origin at pelvic plexus to its distal course along the urethra. We also showed the important relationship between pelvic plexus ganglions and seminal vesicles to illustrate the vulnerability of these nerves to thermal, electrical and/or crush injury during seminal vesicle and prostatic pedicle dissections. The importance of additional fine neural plexus along the posterior and antero-lateral surface of the prostate was shown by both gross anatomical and microscopic images. The distal precarious location of the bundles was illustrated by dissections showing anteriorly lifted prostate.These anatomico-operative correlations have not been published for laparoscopic and robotic prostatectomies, which differ significantly in its visual angles, magnifications and sometimes three-dimensional (3D) visualization from its open counter part. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy provides exposure and visualization of male pelvis not previously appreciated. It is only through a careful reexamination of the anatomy of the male pelvis, in the context of this new procedure, that the improvements in visualization and exposure benefit the surgeon. Our work provides a detailed map relating to operative steps to aid the surgeon in the performance of a nerve sparing robotic and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Positive Surgical Margins in Radical Prostatectomy: Outlining the Problem and Its Long-Term Consequences

BACKGROUND We previously reported the learning curve for open radical prostatectomy, reporting large decreases in recurrence rates with increasing surgeon experience. Here we aim to characterise the learning curve for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. METHODS We did a retrospective cohort study of 4702 patients with prostate cancer treated laparoscopically by one of 29 surgeons from seven institutions in Europe and North America between January, 1998, and June, 2007. Multivariable models were used to assess the association between surgeon experience at the time of each patients operation and prostate-cancer recurrence, with adjustment for established predictors. FINDINGS After adjusting for case mix, greater surgeon experience was associated with a lower risk of recurrence (p=0.0053). The 5-year risk of recurrence decreased from 17% to 16% to 9% for a patient treated by a surgeon with 10, 250, and 750 prior laparoscopic procedures, respectively (risk difference between 10 and 750 procedures 8.0%, 95% CI 4.4-12.0). The learning curve for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was slower than the previously reported learning curve for open surgery (p<0.001). Surgeons with previous experience of open radical prostatectomy had significantly poorer results than those whose first operation was laparoscopic (risk difference 12.3%, 95% CI 8.8-15.7). INTERPRETATION Increasing surgical experience is associated with substantial reductions in cancer recurrence after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, but improvements in outcome seem to accrue more slowly than for open surgery. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy seems to involve skills that do not translate well from open radical prostatectomy. FUNDING National Cancer Institute, the Allbritton Fund, and the David J Koch Foundation.

Comprehensive Prospective Comparative Analysis of Outcomes Between Open and Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy Conducted in 2003 to 2005

CONTEXT This review focuses on positive surgical margins (PSM) in radical prostatectomy (RP). OBJECTIVE To address the etiology, incidence, and oncologic impact of PSM and discuss technical points to help surgeons minimize their positive margin rate. An evidence-based approach to assist clinicians in counseling patients with a PSM is provided. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A literature search in English was performed using the National Library of Medicine database and the following key words: prostate cancer, surgical margins, and radical prostatectomy. Seven hundred sixty-eight references were scrutinized, and 73 were selected for rigorous review based on their pertinence, study size, and overall contribution to the field. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS In contemporary series, PSM are reported in 11-38% of patients undergoing RP. Although variability exists in the pathologic interpretation of surgical margins, PSM are associated with an increased hazard of biochemical recurrence (BCR) and local disease recurrence as well as the need for secondary cancer treatment. A posterolateral PSM appears to confer the greatest risk of recurrence, whereas the prognostic significance of positive apical margins remains controversial. The role of preoperative imaging and intraoperative frozen section analysis are being investigated to reduce margin positivity rates. Level-1 evidence indicates that adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in men with PSM reduces BCR rates and clinical progression and possibly improves overall survival (OS). CONCLUSIONS PSM in RP specimens are uniformly considered an adverse outcome. Regardless of approach (open or laparoscopic), attention to surgical detail is essential to minimize rates. For patients with a PSM destined to experience a cancer recurrence, RT is the only established treatment with curative potential. A randomized trial in patients with PSM comparing immediate postoperative RT to salvage RT is critically needed before definitive recommendations can be made.

Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: Initial experience and preliminary assessment after 65 operations

PURPOSE In a nonrandomized prospective fashion we compared the oncological, functional and morbidity outcomes after laparoscopic and retropubic radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between January 2003 and December 2005 a total of 1,430 consecutive men with clinically localized prostate cancer underwent radical prostatectomy, laparoscopic in 612 and retropubic in 818. The surgical approach was selected by the patient. Preoperative staging, respective surgical techniques, pathological examination and followup were uniform. Functional outcome was measured by patient completed health related quality of life questionnaire. RESULTS Positive surgical margin rates (11%) and freedom from progression (median followup 18 months) were comparable between laparoscopic and retropubic radical prostatectomy (HR 0.99 for laparoscopic vs retropubic radical prostatectomy, p = 0.9). We found no significant association between operation type and time to postoperative potency (HR 1.04 for laparoscopic vs retropubic radical prostatectomy; 95% CI 0.74, 1.46; p = 0.8). Patients who underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy were less likely to become continent than those treated with retropubic radical prostatectomy (HR 0.56 for laparoscopic vs retropubic radical prostatectomy; 95% CI 0.44, 0.70; p <0.0005). Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was associated with less blood loss (mean ml +/- SD 315 +/- 186 vs 1,267 +/- 660) and lower overall transfusion rate (3% vs 49%). No significant difference was noted in cardiovascular, thromboembolic and urinary complications. Emergency room visits and readmissions were higher after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (15% vs 11% and 4.6% vs 1.2%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS At our institution and during the study period laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and retropubic radical prostatectomy provided comparable oncological efficacy. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was associated with less blood loss and a lower transfusion rate, and higher postoperative hospital visits and readmission rate. While the recovery of potency was equivalent, that of continence was superior after retropubic radical prostatectomy.