Radical retropubic prostatectomy: comparison of the open and robotic approaches for treatment of prostate cancer.

Radical prostatectomy represents the standard of care for surgical treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer. First described in 1904, the operation became widely performed only after advances in diagnostic and surgical techniques occurred later in the century. Over time, open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP) became the most common operation for prostate cancer, and excellent long-term survival outcomes have been reported. More recently, minimally invasive techniques such as the robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) were introduced. Despite a lack of prospectively collected, long-term data supporting its use, RALRP has overtaken RRP as the most frequently performed prostate cancer operation in the United States. This article uses currently available data to compare oncologic, functional, and quality-of-life outcomes associated with both the open and robotic approaches to radical prostatectomy.