Robot assisted radical prostatectomy: how I do it. Part II: Surgical technique.

The introduction of the "da Vinci Robotic Surgical System" (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) has been an important step towards a minimally invasive approach to radical prostatectomy. Technologic peculiarities, such as three-dimensional vision, wristed instrumentation with seven degrees of freedom of motion, lack of tremor, a 10x-magnification and a comfortable seated position for the surgeon has added value to the procedure for the surgeon and the patient. In this article, we describe the 9 step surgical technique for robot assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) that is currently used in our institution (University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) - Hopital St-Luc). We use the four-arm da Vinci Surgical System. Our experience with RARP is now over 250 cases with the senior surgeon having performed over 1200 RARPs and we have continually refined our technique to improve patient outcomes.