Single-port system on par with multiport robotic assisted radical prostatectomy

A single-port system is feasible in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, with operative and perioperative outcomes similar to those of a multiport robotic approach, a study has shown.

The authors retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy by two urological surgeons between October 2018 and June 2019. They collected and analysed the available preoperative clinical and demographic data, operative parameters, and postoperative outcomes using the t-test, chi-square, and Fisher exact statistical measures.

Ninety-five patients were included in the analysis, of whom 47 underwent the single-port robotic system and 48 the multiport approach. Patients across the two groups had comparable preoperative clinical parameters, including age, body mass index, prior abdominal surgery, and biopsy grade.

No significant differences were found between the single-port and multiport approaches in terms of the following: estimated blood loss (169.2±114.2 vs 157.7±125.4 ml; p=0.64), operative time (255.9±44.1 vs 274.7±50.4 minutes; p=0.06), length of hospitalization (1.1±0.5 vs 1.4±1.1 days; p=0.17), rate of perioperative inpatient Clavien-Dindo complications ≥2 (4.3 percent vs 6.3 percent; p=0.66) and rate of positive pathological margin (21.3 percent vs 27.1percent; p=0.51)

“Surgical approach to radical prostatectomy has evolved due to advances in minimally invasive surgery, with most contemporary approaches involving the Si or Xi multiport robotic systems,” the authors said.

“[The] US Food and Drug Administration approval of the single-port da Vinci SP robotic platform has led to a few case series suggesting its safety and feasibility for robotic assisted radical prostatectomy in patients with prostate cancer,” they added.