Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in obese patients
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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
Retzius-Sparing Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy
Published on: May 19, 2022
Judd Boczko1, Ralph Madeb, Dragan Golijanin
1University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Urology, Rochester, NY, USA.
Objectives:
Few centers perform extraperitoneal robot assisted radical prostatectomy. The average patient weight is increasing to the mildly obese. Little is known as to the difficulty-impact, obesity may have on robot-assisted extraperitoneal prostatectomy (RAP). We assess our own experience with obese patients undergoing RAP.
Materials And Methods:
Information on 375 consecutive patients undergoing robot-assisted extraperitoneal prostatectomy by a single surgeon was gathered. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2. Patients with BMI >/= 30 were compared to those with BMI < 30. Specific comparators between the groups were: age, total operating time, estimated blood loss, total prostate specific antigen (PSA), specimen weight, pathological stage, grade and margin, complications, and functional outcomes.
Results:
Sixty-seven men were identified as obese. When comparing the two groups, no statistically significant difference (p > .05) was noted in operative time (229 versus 217 min), blood loss (205 versus 175 ml), PSA, clinical and pathologic stages, specimen weight, and complications. 15% of non-obese patients had a positive margin compared to 12% of obese patients (p > .05). The 6-month continence rate in patients with a BMI >/= 30 was 92% versus 97% in patients with a BMI < 30.
Conclusions:
The extraperitoneal approach to performing a robot-assisted prostatectomy is not associated with increased morbidity in the obese patient. There were no statistically significant differences noted in oncological or functional outcomes between the two groups.