Margin control in robotic and laparoscopic prostatectomy: what are the REAL outcomes?

Our institutional experience and relevant literature on surgical margin rates with laparoscopic and robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy are summarized. Differences in surgical margins were assessed between patients undergoing open or robotic-assisted prostatectomy by experienced surgeons, and placed in context with a review of the literature. Surgical margins and location were similar between patients undergoing open or robotic prostatectomy. Pathologic stage, baseline prostate-specific antigen, and Gleason score all impacted the risk of a positive surgical margin. Experienced surgeons can achieve comparable outcomes in terms of surgical margins. Disease burden plays a significant role in positive surgical margins.