Aborted Robotic Surgery

After 2 months of anxious waiting, my prostatectomy surgery at Penn Presbyterian in Philadelphia via the Da Vinci robot with Dr. Lee was scheduled for yesterday. I entered the operating room about 12 noon and was told the procedure would take about 3 hours. I was awoken at 2:36 with the news that the surgery had to be aborted. Apparently, adhesions from an old appendectomy prevented Dr. Lee from getting good access to the prostate. He said there was high risk of damage to the colon. I now face a radical prostatecty. Has anyone out there had this experience?   What did you do?

Charlie Fenstermaker

Fogelsville, PA

Charlie, That is a bummer....but, the doctor surely did the right thing....You wouldn't want to have a bowel resection at the same time. I think you dodged a bullet there....Look at it that way... Diane

I agree with the others that the surgeon sounds like he did right thing. I have heard of other surgeries being aborted for anesthesia complications or surgeons not performing da vinci because of scarring, but not one similar to yours. I'm sorry you will have to go through the anxiety of waiting all over again, but I hope the outcome will be the same and that you will be cancer free with minimal side effects. All the best and keep us posted.

Your doctor did the right thing. There seems to be a false view held here by some that robotic is better than RRP. True it appears to be less invasive but both are major surgeries. There's also something to be said that many urological surgeons prefer to actually feel the areas with their experienced fingers. That said I can sympathize which must be awful to finally decide on a treatment go to the hospital and waking up still needing treatment. Better luck next time. Take comfort you have a wise doctor.

Sorry to hear that you had your robotic surgery aborted, but I'm sure the surgeon did the right thing under the circumstance.

Robotic-assisted surgery is the newest technology available for those choosing a prostatectomy. It has its advantages, but so does open, as another posted has noted.

I had an open retropubic surgery and everything went smoothly and uneventfully.  I healed quickly and can barely see a scar line.

All the best with your treatment....Tim 

Don't worry about the open surgery. I had a small scar, no pain meds after the recovery room, no blood loss, two day stay in the hospital and a normal recovery. PSA's are still less than zero. I almost died from gall bladder surgery and spent four days in intensive care so several years ago so, don't worry, it will be okay.

Mika

Thanks to all for your comments. I too believe that my surgeon made the right decision. On Nov 14 I had an appointment with Dr. Alan Wein, Chief of Urology at Univ of Penn Hospital. He has performed several thousand open prostatectomies. Before we decided on surgery, he ordered a series of MRI studies to determine the extent of the adhesions. I had an appointment with him today and he reviewed the MRI report with me. The report indicated that I had a fair amount fatty tissue in the lower abdomen that surrounded the bladder and the prostate. It was diagnosed as lipomatosis. My first reaction was "NOW WHAT?"  I might have a little bit of a middle-aged belly, but I don't consider myself to be fat. Dr. Wein said he was confident he could still do the surgery but that there was a probability of greater blood loss because fat usually bleeds heavily when it is cut. On the positive side, he said that the presence of fatty tissue would not change the probability of impotence following surgery. However, if he felt that he could not safely remove the prostate due to obstruction of the fatty tissue, he would abort the surgery. He advised me to meet with a radiation oncologist before I definitely decided on surgery. I have an appointment tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Charlie Fenstermaker