Prostate surgeries offer men with prostate cancer an option that will allow them to live an active and comfortable life. Surgery is the oldest cancer treatment around, but it can only help men who have localized prostate cancer that has not metastasized and spread throughout the body. Sometimes the removal of the entire prostate gland is required. Radical prostatectomy may also remove some of the seminal vesicles, surrounding nerves, and veins. Occasionally part of the urethra may also need to be removed. If this is necessary, the man may experience penile shrinkage.

Types of prostate surgeries

There are four kinds of surgeries that are commonly used to treat the prostate gland. Some of them use pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), others do not. They may require an overnight stay after the procedure is done and there could be issues afterwards, such as erectile dysfunction and urination problems. All of them, however, have been useful in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Retropubic surgery includes an eight to ten centimeter incision in the lower abdomen and is considered open surgery. This type of surgery includes the PLND technique and spares the nerves in the body. This surgery has been used since the 1940s, but there is a tendency for the patient to lose a considerable amount of blood. Doctors began to veer away from this type of surgery in the 1980s when better techniques were discovered.

Perineal surgery involves making a four centimeter incision in the muscle and exterior skin located between the man’s scrotum and anal sphincter. This procedure has also become less popular unless complications arise and require a larger incision.

Laparoscopic surgery and robotic techniques are the most commonly used techniques today. The doctor will insert a tube-like instrument into the abdominal cavity using a few small incisions. The laparoscope is inserted into the body and allows the doctor to see what he is doing as he removes the prostate gland through one of the other incisions. The robotic version of this type of surgery is done in the same way, except the doctor will use robotic arms to do the work in the body. He controls the arms from a console while watching the proceedings on a monitor. Both techniques are performed in virtually the same way.

Cryotherapy is the newest type of prostate surgery that is being used. It is used when patients do not respond to radiation treatments. A small incision is made in the man’s body and the prostate gland is frozen, destroying the malignant cells by dehydrating them, changing the pH levels, or preventing the flow of red blood cells to the organ. It also helps stimulate the production of anti-bodies in the body that will help fight the destruction of the tumor.

Possible side effects of prostate surgery

Considering the delicate area of the surgery and what the prostate gland does for sexual functions, there could be side effects after the surgery. Sexual potency may be affected due to the diversion of blood flow and the way the nerves are stimulated, making an erection difficult to get or maintain. If the procedure is one of the nerve-sparing techniques, men may find that they will regain erectile function much sooner.

Prostate surgeries that use the cryotherapy technique are much less invasive and usually only requires a one day or one night stay. If the initial freezing of the cells does not work the first time around, it can be repeated without any adverse affects to the patient. Unfortunately the procedure is so new that there is little information on the long-time results. No matter what type is used, it should be always be done by a qualified surgeon and their staff.