title: Suture versus staple ligation of the dorsal venous complex during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present our operative and postoperative functional outcomes of sutured compared with endovascular staple ligation of the dorsal venous complex (DVC) during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). Ligation of the DVC during RALP with an endovascular stapler has purported advantages of decreased apical positive surgical margin (PSM) rate, blood loss, and operative time when compared with suture ligation.
  
  
  METHODS
  In all, 162 patients who underwent RALP between October 2005 and April 2008 by one surgeon (R.B.N.) were assessed. We retrospectively analysed two different treatment groups: group 1 underwent DVC ligation with a single suture, while group 2 underwent endovascular staple ligation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 162 patients evaluated, 67 had suture ligation (group 1) and 95 had staple ligation (group 2) of the DVC. Baseline patient characteristics (age, body mass index, biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage) and tumour characteristics (specimen weight, tumour volume, pathological Gleason score and stage) did not differ between the groups. Estimated blood loss (494 mL vs 288 mL), time to dissect out, ligate and transect the DVC (30 min vs 24 min), apical PSM rate (13.4% vs 2.1%) differed significantly between groups 1 and 2 respectively, favouring staple ligation of the DVC. At 6 months follow-up, there was no difference between the groups for PSA recurrence (3.7% vs 0%), complete continence (63.4% vs 55.7%) and Sexual Health Inventory for Men score (8.4 vs 8.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, staple ligation of the DVC during RALP resulted in improved apical PSM rates, faster operative times and less blood loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Simon D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Joshua J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Meeks
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cashy
authors.forename: Kent T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Nadler
mesh_terms: D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012371:Robotics; D017792:Surgical Stapling; D013537:Sutures; D016896:Treatment Outcome