Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : June 14, 2016 10:57 AM IST
While we all know that prostate cancer is a silent killer, but if diagnosed, it can be treated with treatment and surgery. The world has moved on from open surgery to minimally invasive surgeries laparoscopic or robotic surgery is now the recent trend in the medical world. Here Dr Anup Ramani, Uro-oncological Robotic surgeon speaks on the surgical options for prostate cancer.
Minimally invasive surgeries are a norm these days. Has it made the outcomes and survival rates better?
A decade ago, surgeons had to cut open a patient to remove cancer from his prostate, the incision ran from the prostate to the umbilicus which would be around 15 cm long. Once we could see the innards of the patients, we relied on our eyes to look at the organ, the areas surrounding it and operated on the patient. The cons of these open surgeries were it lead to a lot of blood loss; the recovery was painful and people took months to get back on their feet to do regular chores. Minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgeries came in during the early 90s where instead of making one big cut surgeons would make five tiny cuts about 5 or 6 mm in length, through one of the cuts a lens would be introduced which can multiply the innards by 10 times than what you would see with your eyes. A surgeon can see the innards on a monitor connected to the lens. So because of the wild angle range in the laparoscopic surgery, the view of the organ and surrounding is 10 times superior to open surgery. As a result of this - precision and accuracy of the minimally invasive surgery, the results are far better and also the outcomes and survival rates.
What is the difference between a laparoscopic surgery and a robotic surgery?
At the beginning of 00 open surgeries became history and it was the trend to do minimally invasive surgeries obviously for its outcomes and accuracy. The surgical robotic came into the picture eventually, which looks like a four-handed octopus and is made up of metal. The robot is mounted on a stand just above the patient and is controlled by a control station, where the surgeon sits to control the robotic arms. As compared to laparoscopy lens which is a two-dimensional lens, the robotic lens is three dimensional with a magnification of 10x (same as a laparoscopic surgery). So what a surgeon sees through the control panel it gives a three-dimensional view of the abdomen or the organ that needs attention. It is almost like you are inside the patient s abdomen. The surgeon has the control to the other three arms in his hands. Also, the robotic arms are very flexible, like, if there is a hurdle the intestine or a blood vessel coming in between a surgeon can flex the arms and reach to the desired spot. Like laparoscopic surgery, in robotic surgery too five small incisions are made. In fact, for a prostate, kidney or even adrenaline gland surgery if a robotic surgery is an option it is the best one can have.
How is a robotic surgery better than the laparoscopic surgery?
In the laparoscopic surgery even though the view is much better, it is the surgeon who does the surgery. But in a robotic surgery, the surgeon controls the robotic arms to perform the surgery. The robotic surgery gives
In fact, for prostate cancer surgeries, robotic surgeries are now considered as the gold standard of treatment. However, not every patient suffering from prostate cancer would need to go under the robot for surgery.
Who should go for a robotic surgery for prostate cancer?
Even though it is the gold standard of treatment, a surgery is not for everyone. Here are a few things you need to know about prostate cancer surgery:
What can be done to treat prostate cancer promptly?
Every man after the age of 50 should go for a yearly PSA test without fail. It is the only way one can catch this cancer early as it is a highly preventable and treatable cancer. In this type of cancer precaution and awareness is the first step in treatment.
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