Robotic-assisted prostate surgery offers all of the advantages of traditional surgery yet minimizes many of the disadvantages associated with the standard "open" procedure. The da Vinci® Surgical System is used by Drs. Warren Bromberg and Mark Nogueira of the Mount Kisco Medical Group. Drs. Bromberg and Nogueira perform this surgery at Northern Westchester Hospital. This computer driven system uses state-of-the-art robotic technology to enhance prostate surgery. The da Vinci System provides the surgeon with superb 3-dimensional imaging and the ability to perform precise fine movements with micro-instruments through tiny openings. Complex surgery can be performed because the robot allows the surgeon to see vital anatomic structures as never before and the miniaturized instruments move like human hands.

Robotic-assisted surgery is performed using 5 small keyhole opening instead of the traditional 6 to 10 inch incision. Men will have less postoperative pain and less scarring. The hospital stay is generally a day and a half compared with 3 to 4 days. A urinary catheter remains after surgery for about a week instead of 2 to 3 weeks. Recovery and return to work or other activities may be as short as 2 weeks whereas open surgery requires 6 to 8 weeks.

The da Vinci® Prostatectomy offers a number of additional potential benefits.
There is less blood loss and a lower risk of blood transfusion. Preservation of urinary control is as good as with open surgery. Preservation of sexual function can be achieved in the majority of men with good pre-surgical erectile ability and when a nerve-sparing operation is deemed appropriate. Nerves that are responsible for erection course alongside the prostate and must be spared during surgery. The da Vinci system offers enhanced magnification of these important structures.

Such advances in medical technology are allowing men with early prostate cancer to return more quickly and successfully to active and productive lives following treatment. While the benefits of such minimally invasive surgery cannot be guaranteed the da Vinci Prostatectomy has been performed successfully in thousands of patients worldwide and is rapidly becoming the new standard for the surgical treatment of prostate cancer.