Interval from prostate biopsy to robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: effects on perioperative outcomes.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether shorter intervals (<4 and 6 weeks) between prostate biopsy and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) have a detrimental effect on perioperative outcomes, as recent studies showed that open RP shortly after prostate biopsy does not adversely influence surgical difficulty or efficacy, but RARP relies solely on visual cues rather than tactile sensation to determine posterior surgical planes of dissection.


METHODS
A series of 559 patients undergoing RARP from March 2004 to July 2007 was retrospectively reviewed. The interval between prostate biopsy and RARP was determined and patients with intervals of <or=4 weeks were compared to those >4 weeks. Patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes were analysed to determine statistically significant differences between the groups. This comparison was then repeated with a <or=6- vs >6-week interval, and examined with a multivariate logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
In the <or=4-week group (27 patients) vs the >4-week group (509 patients), there was a significantly (P < 0.05) higher rate of complications (18.5% vs 6.9%). In the <or=6-week group (81 patients) vs the >6-week group (455 patients) there was a smaller but still significantly higher rate of complications (13.6% vs 6.4%). These results were still significant when controlling for patient and disease characteristics and the 'learning curve'. There was also a significantly higher rate of transfusion in the <or=6-week group (3.7%) than the >6-week group (0.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that RARP should be delayed after prostate biopsy; RARP within 6 weeks of biopsy was associated with a greater risk of complications even when controlling for disease and patient characteristics.
Martin
George L
GL
Urology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, USA. martin.george@mayo.edu
Nunez
Rafael N
RN
Humphreys
Mitchell D
MD
Martin
Aaron D
AD
Ferrigni
Robert G
RG
Andrews
Paul E
PE
Castle
Erik P
EP
D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011467:Prostate / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012371:Robotics; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome