Prostate is a gland which is situated below the urinary bladder. There are several functions of the prostate gland, however; its most important role is seen in the reproductive system. There are different types of prostate illnesses which present themselves with different signs and symptoms. In general, there are two most common illnesses of the prostate gland, i.e. benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is considered as the physiological or normal finding in advanced aged men. In this condition, the size of the prostate gland is increased on account of continued exposure to the male hormone, testosterone.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer found in men after lung cancer throughout the world. This is one of the deadly cancers which present itself in advanced stage and hence the treatment or cure becomes almost impossible. In usual the enlarged prostate is developed in both of these conditions and hence an individual use to get collective symptoms like urgency and frequency to pass urine. The symptoms also include hesitancy and incontinence of urine.

The major symptoms of prostate cancer include; blood in urine (Hematuria) either gross (can be seen by naked eye) or microscopic. The other symptoms of prostate cancer are; inability to pass urine, pain during urination, weight loss and swelling, etc. In usual there are no obvious signs of prostate cancer and the diagnosis of this condition is most of the time incidental. Prostate cancer cells are highly active and they tend to disseminate throughout the body via blood stream. The main sites of metastasis or spread of prostate cancer are bones and liver. In terminal stage, prostate cancer cells can reach to the brain and could become the cause of death.

In usual, prostate cancer is prevalent in elderly, however; it may be presented in early age as well. When a person starts to get the obvious symptoms, he may consult a prostate cancer doctor who asks for different blood tests including PSA level, ultrasound of prostate gland, bone scan and liver functions test. After thorough examination and investigations, prostate cancer can be diagnosed with its stage of presentation. Prostate cancer prognosis is not good and hence many of the patients die due to this deadly illness with in few years after diagnosis. Like other cancers of the body, the prognosis and outcome of the prostate cancer treatment depends upon the stage of its presentation. In case of distant metastasis, it is not possible to provide cure to the individual.

There are different modes of prostate cancer surgery and all of these modalities depend upon the age, co-morbidities and stage of cancer. In early stages, prostate cancer surgery could provide good results, however; surgery for prostate cancer is not done in extremely old age and in the presence of other illnesses which could produce life threatening conditions after surgery and difficulty in recovery.

In general there are two types of prostate cancer surgeries which are done nowadays in different hospitals. Like traditional surgeries, there is an open surgery in which a surgeon after putting the patient to sleep via anesthesia, open the area of the prostate gland and remove all the deadly tissues from the body. Although prostate is an essential organ, however; it is not necessary for the general performance of the different systems. A man could survive easily without his prostate gland, however; few of his systems including the reproductive system could not become able to function normally.

The second type of surgery is called as robotic surgery for prostate gland. This is the advanced form of surgery and it is the innovative method of 21st Century. This surgery is called as robotic prostectomy or robotic laproscopic prostectomy. As the names suggests, this type of surgery is a mechanical method and hence a robotic help is taken in order to perform the precise and accurate resection of prostate gland. Robotic surgery is now being done in different hospitals of the world including John Hopkins’s Hospital, Watch South Miami Hospital and Florida Hospital, etc. During this surgery, a robot remains in action and performs surgery with the help of its four to five arms. A surgeon operates the robot and hence it is not true to say that this type of surgery is without any manual support. During surgery, small key holes are made near the prostate gland and from these holes different tubes and camera is inserted inside the body in order to run the procedure and to get precise images of the tissues.

Robotic surgery for prostate cancer is not only beneficial for the patients but also for the surgeons as well. By the help of this surgery, it becomes possible to reach the deadly tissues easily, since three dimensional pictures could be obtained during this procedure and ultrasound guidance is taken while approaching to the prostate gland. During this surgery, it is not required to open the area and hence, in other words; the recovery would be faster and quicker. One of the main advantages of robotic surgery is that a surgeon becomes able to operate the whole process easily. He can use many arms of a robot in order to perform precise procedure. Robotic surgery also minimizes the surgical problems like development of more scar tissues, infections, etc. An experienced old surgeon could also become able to do this surgery since the tremors of his hands would not bother him as he can operate a machine rather easily.

According to the facts and figures, it has been found that cancer removal via robotic surgery remains excellent and much better as compared to open surgery. The PSA level which is increased in prostate cancer remains undetectable in more than 90% of patients even after 5 years of robotic surgery. Individuals become able to perform successful intercourse in more than 90% of cases after one year of robotic surgery and they don’t require pads to cope with urine incontinence as well. It has also been reported that the chances of blood loss during robotic surgery are much lower as compared to open surgery and hence it could be said that robotic surgery is free from major complications. The safety margin in this type of surgery is much superior as compared to open surgery and hence many of the surgeons prefer this method nowadays.

The decision for either open or robotic surgery is made by the surgeon depending upon the patient’s condition. In advanced cases of prostate cancer, neither open nor robotic surgery would become fruitful since the overall outcome is much lower. Those patients who acquire successful surgical resection need to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well. The role of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in localized and early stage prostate cancer is just preventive, however; during advanced stages these modalities are used as the definitive treatment.

Palliative treatment is the final option in case of advanced prostate cancer in which an individual is provided with relief from symptoms only. However; this palliative or symptomatic treatment could be given with radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well. In conclusion, the advancement in medical science has made it much easier to treat the deadly illnesses like prostate cancer with the provision of early recovery and without chances of major complications.