A robotic-assisted prostatectomy is performed to treat men with localised prostate cancer (meaning that the cancer that has not spread to other parts of your body). Prior to the availability of the da Vinci xi© robot, men with prostate cancer electing to have surgical removal of the prostate would undergo an open prostatectomy where a large lower abdominal incision was made to access the prostate. Today, few men undergo this type of operation in the India, instead the majority have their surgery utilising the robotic platform.

A robotic-assisted prostatectomy performed takes approximately 2-3 hours and is performed under a general anaesthetic. Often patients will also have a spinal anaesthetic in addition to the general anaesthetic to maximise analgesia (pain relief) after the operation.

During the operation surgeons make 6 very small incisions in the skin of the patient’s abdomen through which the instruments of the da Vinci xi© robot are able to gain access to the prostate. The robot has 4 arms, one of these arms holds a camera which enables the surgeon to see the inside of the abdomen, while the other arms hold the instruments that the surgeon controls to actually carry out the procedure.