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Dr Lyn Oliver AM MSc PhD
Retired Medical Physicist

Information for Patients



This is a scientific and technically based article. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is for information only.

If you have any health problems or questions related to your health, then please consult your doctor.

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This article was prepared from personal experience as a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer. My choice for mode of treatment came from advice I received from medical colleagues and information I procured during the process. Deciding what method of treatment I should choose for my prostate cancer, was not easy.

Manual Prostatectomy

The manual surgical method.

Manual surgical methods have progressed from open surgery to what is known as ‘key-hole surgery’ for prostate cancer. Your surgeon will explain and advise you about the differences between manual, key-hole surgery and robotic surgery options.

Robotic Prostatectomy

The robotic surgery method.

If your are not squeamish when you see an operation, then you might like to watch this YouTube video produced by Barwon Health, Victoria (Robotic Urological Surgery). It shows the remarkable instrumentation and skills of the surgeon performing the robotic surgery procedure.



Despite the expense, a large proportion of patients have chosen robotic surgery as the preferred surgical method for prostate cancer. It is claimed to minimise the dreaded complications for when the prostate is surgically removed. However, some surgeons still disagree with this premise.

The severity of complications from robotic surgery can depend markedly on:

  • the patient’s physical fitness;
  • his personal well-being; and
  • the location of the crucial nerves to the prostate when it is surgically removed.

Patient urinary incontinence is variable from case to case for surgery of prostate cancer. 

The physical fitness of the patient, pre-surgery exercise, the complexity of the anatomy operated on and the skill of the surgeon all interact in a complex way and affect the quality of care and outcome of this post-surgical complication.

In a pre-surgery briefing, your surgeon will advise you to have regular abdominal muscle exercises before the operation. This is to help maintain post-surgery bladder control.

My doctor informed me that erectile dysfunction can range from one month to 2 years. He said the repair time depends on the severity of nerve injury from the operation.

As part of the post-robotic surgery recovery for prostate cancer, your partner needs to be  understanding, patient and prepared to assist during these difficult sexual times. It is a time when both partners will be experiencing the difficulties of change. Despite this, regular sexual activities (no matter how successful) should help speed your erectile capabilities and recover back to normality’.

My surgeon also prescribed a small dose (20mg) of viagra. He postulated that this improves blood supply for the recovery of erection performance.


Surgical Complications

There’s still some debate amongst surgeons. Some surveys have shown that there is not a great difference in treatment quality for manual key-hole surgery and robotic.

However, if the surgeon has the required expertise for robotic surgery, then one would expect robotic surgery can reduce complications. But, grades of erectile dysfunction will occur, even after having had the ‘best’ surgical treatment.

In the end, it’s the patient’s decision. He must choose his medical specialist and decide whether he prefers robotic surgery or another mode of prostate cancer treatment. 

Lyn Oliver, 7 May 2017
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> Welcome to community Information > Cancer Care Technologies > Technology in Surgery and Therapy > Index: All Articles

Prostate cancer overview > Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer > Prostate Brachytherapy > Electroporation for Prostate Cancer – Early Clinical Trials

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