ENDOUROLOGY & LAPAROSCOPY

Prospective comparison of short-term convalescence: laparoscopic radical prostatectomy versus open radical retropubic prostatectomy
Bhayani SB, Pavlovich CP, Hsu TS, Sullivan W, Su LM
James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Urology 2003; 61:612-6

• Objectives: To evaluate and compare prospectively the convalescence of patients after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and open radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) in a standardized clinical care pathway at a single institution by two surgeons of equal experience and training.
• Methods: The study included all 60 patients undergoing LRP and RRP by two fellowship-trained surgeons in their first year of practice. The postoperative care of these patients was uniform and standardized. The medical records were reviewed and convalescence data obtained by an independent urologist and physician’s assistant.
• Results: Of the 60 patients, 24 underwent RRP and 36 underwent attempted LRP; 3 patients were converted from LRP to RRP. The differences in mean age, preoperative prostate-specific antigen level, Gleason score, in-hospital morphine equivalent requirement, time to oral intake, and hospital stay were not statistically significant between the LRP and RRP groups. The operating room time was significantly longer (5.8 ± 1.2 hours versus 2.8 ± 0.55 hours, P < 0.0001) and the estimated blood loss was significantly lower in the LRP group (533 ± 212 mL versus 1473 ± 768 mL, P < 0.0001) than in the RRP group. Pain medication use at home was significantly less in the LRP group (9 ± 13 versus 17 ± 15 oxycodone tablets, P < 0.04), as was the time to complete convalescence (30 ± 18 days versus 47 ± 21 days, P < 0.002).
• Conclusions: Although LRP took almost twice as long to complete as RRP in our initial clinical experience, the patients had a similar hospital course. LRP patients required less pain medication after discharge and had a shorter time to complete recovery than did RRP patients. Additional studies are needed to address long-term cancer control, potency, and continence outcomes to determine the precise role of LRP in the treatment of men with clinically localized prostate cancer.
  
• Editorial Comment
  Although laparoscopic radical prostatectomy has been routinely applied at several centers worldwide, the procedure is far from universally accepted. Surprisingly, this is the first paper to address critically one aspect of the laparoscopic prostatectomy that is purported to be one of its main advantages that being an improved post-operative convalescence compared to open surgical prostatectomy. There are a few problems with this study, primarily being that the method of obtaining the convalescence data was not clearly defined and certainly a validated questionnaire was not used, and that the operations were performed during the first year of practice of the 2 attending surgeons (although both had received fellowship training). With these caveats in mind, the data can still be informative. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy took 3 hours longer in the operating room than did the open surgical procedure. That is consistent with the experience level of the surgeons, and the operative time for the laparoscopic procedure has been shown to decline (probably to the point of 30 to 90 minutes longer than for the open procedure) with continued experience. It is likely that the increased operative time in the laparoscopic group had some negative impact on the recovery of this group, but not so much as did the difference in operative approach. The laparoscopic group gained partial convalescence (what I would term “normal, non-strenuous activity”) in 12 days, compared to 21 days in the open surgical group (57% sooner) and full convalescence in 30 days compared to 47 days (36% faster). These improvements are about the same order of magnitude in a relative sense as that reported in studies of laparoscopic nephrectomy, although since the absolute recovery time is less following prostatectomy compared to nephrectomy, the difference in terms of absolute time (9 days for partial convalescence and 17 days for full convalescence) is a bit less than that seen in the nephrectomy population. We have unpublished data from our institution that suggests a recovery benefit of similar magnitude for laparoscopic prostatectomy. However, improved recovery following laparoscopic compared to open surgical prostatectomy has been assumed - the key comparisons to be made are for cancer control, potency, and continence. These issues are not addressed in this report and continue to be the subject of debate.

Dr. J. Stuart Wolf Jr.
Associate Professor of Urology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA