[The role of laparoscopy in the management of prostatic cancer]

Laparoscopic lymphadenectomy is a new surgical modality with increasing usage in the staging and management of prostate carcinoma. Since the presence or absence of metastatic disease in the pelvic lymph nodes must be assessed for proper treatment planning, and preoperative staging studies have a high rate of false negative results, histological evaluation of the pelvic lymph nodes should be performed prior to radical prostatectomy. Laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy is a well tolerated, safe, and accurate alternative to the conventional open surgical procedure.