[Has time already passed the open radical prostatectomy?]

Besides radiotherapy, open radical prostatectomy is an established therapy for localized prostatic cancer. Continuous improvements have been made to the surgical technique, with constantly improving results. Erection is preserved in approximately half of the operated patients, and the risk of urinary incontinence is about 3%. In recent years, open surgery has become rivalled by less invasive forms of surgery, laparoscopic prostatectomy and, above all, robotic laparoscopic prostatectomy, by producing slight reductions in the length of the hospital stay and in surgical bleeding. Even so, the costs of surgical operations may increase even twofold, especially with robotic laparoscopic prostatectomy.