Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: assessment after 240 procedures.

Radical prostatectomy can be successfully performed by transperitoneal laparoscopy by a urologic team experienced in laparoscopy and radical prostatectomy. Operative and postoperative morbidity rates are low. Postoperative pain is minimal, allowing reduction of the length of hospital stay. The oncologic results seem satisfactory based on short-term follow-up. The improvement of the quality of intraoperative vision related to magnification of the image allows a more precise procedure. This subjective improvement of the quality of dissection should reduce the usual functional sequelae of conventional radical prostatectomy, such as incontinence and impotence. This finding needs to be confirmed by a larger series of patients with longer follow-up. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is now performed routinely and is proposed as a first-line surgical treatment for localized prostatic cancer at the authors' center.