title: The "halo effect" in Korea: change in practice patterns since the introduction of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
abstract: Acquisition of the da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Mountain View, USA) has enabled robot-assisted surgery to become an acceptable alternative to open radical prostatectomy (ORP). Implementation of robotics at a single institution in Korea induced a gradual increase in the number of performances of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) to surgically treat localized prostate cancer. We analyzed the impact of robotic instrumentation on practice patterns among urologists and explain the change in value in ORP and RALP-the standard treatment and the new approach or innovation of robotic technology. The overall number of prostatectomies has increased over time because the number of RALPs has grown drastically whereas the number of OPRs did not decrease during the period of evaluation. Our experience emphasizes the potential of RALP to become the gold standard in the treatment of localized prostate cancer in various parts of the world.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ee-Rah
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Wooju
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Yul
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Won Sik
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young Deuk
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. khrha@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Koon Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Rha
keywords: Halo effect; Practice patterns; Prostate cancer; Radical prostatectomy; Robotics; da Vinci