[Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: Perioperative complications, pathological results and functional results during the learning curve]

Objective: We report our experiences regarding the peri- and postoperative complications as well as pathological and functional results of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy during the implementation phase and the learning curve of the technique.

Material: All clinical, paraclinical, as well as peri- and postoperative events of the first 102 patients were filed. Postoperative complications were classified according to the Clavien classification. Regarding functional results, continence was defined as the use of 0 pads or one pad for security reasons. Erectile function was classified into absence of spontaneous erections, erections insufficient for sexual intercourse and erections sufficient for sexual intercourse.

Results: Median procedure time was 240min, blood-loss 400mL and transfusion rate 2%. Overall, 7.8% of all patients had perioperative complications, 13.7% had minor and 4.9% had mayor post operative complications. The overall positive surgical margin rate was 16.0%. At 12month, 87% of all patients were continent and 21.1% had spontaneous erections and 47.4% had sexual intercourse.

Conclusion: Patients treated during the implementation phase of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy show rates of peri- and postoperative complications, as well as pathological and functional results comparable to the results of centers of excellence published in the literature.