Initial experience and short-term outcomes of single-port extraperitoneal transvesical robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a two-center study

BACKGROUND: This study presents the procedure of single-port extraperitoneal transvesical approach to robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (SETvRARP) on the da Vinci Xi platform coupling with a 4-channel single port and evaluated the short-term outcomes in the first 72 prostate cancer (PCa) patients. METHODS: Seventy-two patients with localized PCa were enrolled. Each operation was conducted by the same single robotic surgery group in two centers using the da Vinci Xi system. RESULTS: The median operation time was 150 min, and the median estimated blood loss was 50 mL. All operations were successfully carried out without open conversion or transfusion. No ≥ Grade II complications were noted. Urethral catheters were routinely removed on postoperative day 7. Sixty-eight (94.4%) patients recovered to immediate urinary continence after surgery, with 72 (100%) patients achieving full continence on postoperative day 14. A positive surgical margin was observed in 15 (20.8%) patients. Postoperative urodynamic studies regarding peak urinary flow, bladder capacity, and residual urine were not statically different from the preoperative results. No biochemical recurrence was noted in all patients within the follow-up period. Postoperative erectile function was not statistically different from the preoperative results (P=0.1697). CONCLUSIONS: SETvRARP using the da Vinci Xi system coupling with a 4-channel single port is a valid radical prostatectomy technique in well-selected PCa patients, resulting in superior postoperative recovery of urinary continence. Meanwhile, the outcomes in functional protection and cancer control need to be further investigated with a long-term follow-up duration.