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How good is the view with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy?

Like cystoscopic, neurosurgical, and other operations, laparoscopic surgery takes advantage of modern optics. The laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, a specific form of laparoscopic prostate cancer surgery, applies a scope that provides uniform lighting everywhere, including the far reaches of the narrow male pelvis. The scope transmits dynamic, magnified laparoscopic radical prostatectomy images to a monitor that can be simultaneously viewed by everyone involved in the proceedings: surgeon, assistant, scrub nurse, circulating nurse, anesthesiologist, visitors, and students. As such, the laparoscopic radical prostatectomy provides everyone present more precise and identical views of the operative action, which promotes greater control of the anatomy and excellent coordination among team members.

In the photo, one sees a typical image transmitted by a laparoscope, an image that would be visible to anyone in the operating room. In this example, the surgeon is placing a suture around the dorsal venous complex of Santorini, deep under the pubic bone. At this stage, the assistant is poised to retract the prostate, seen as a pink, fat-covered ball at the bottom. One can appreciate that even in this confined, bone-covered, potentially bloody space the laparoscope offers a magnified, well illuminated, and beautifully presented view.

In making use of good lighting, modern optics, magnification, single operative views, and finer instruments, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a relatively bloodless, controlled, coordinated, and elegant operation.