[Surgery of prostate cancer: Technical principles and perioperative complications]

To describe the surgical procedure of localized prostate cancer treated by radical prostatectomy.

Bibliography search was performed from the Medline database (National Library of Medicine, PubMed) selected according to the scientific relevance. The research was focused on historic of radical prostatectomy, surgical anatomy, surgical technics of radical prostatectomy and lymph nodes excision, and complications.

During the last 30 years, evolution of radical prostatectomy was important, from open to mini-invasive surgery with or without robotic assistance. Anatomical knowledge of the prostate was useful to describe the different anatomical structure as urinary sphincter and fascias, and to develop different procedure of neurovascular bundles preservation to ameliorate functional results. Complications are well-known and their taking-over more precise. Results of radical prostatectomy depend less of the surgical approach but more of the attitude of the surgeon according to the characteristics of the tumor and the functional status of the patient.

Radical prostatectomy is an elaborate and challenging procedure when carcinological risk balances with functional results. Nevertheless, complications are quite rare. Improvement of results is due to adequation between surgical procedure and oncological and functional status.