Prostatectomy

Prostatectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland, performed both for benign conditions that cause urinary retention and for prostate cancer or other pelvic cancers. A simple, or subtotal, prostatectomy removes only part of the gland and is generally performed only for benign disease, while a radical prostatectomy removes the entire prostate along with the seminal vesicles, vas deferens and pelvic lymph nodes and is performed for cancer. For benign prostatic hyperplasia the operation can be performed as open surgery, laparoscopically with robotic assistance, through the urethra or through the perineum, and a newer minimally invasive option, holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, uses a laser to remove excess prostate tissue blocking the urethra and has increasingly replaced the older transurethral resection of the prostate because of its lower risk of bleeding and recurrence.