Experience Really Is Important When It Comes To Prostate Cancer Surgery

With most things in life it is fair to say that the more experienced and practiced you are the better your performance and this is most certainly true with prostate cancer surgery.

A significant problem with cancer is that, in spite of the best efforts of your surgeon, it has a bad habit of returning in a number of cases. when it comes to prostate cancer following the total removal of the prostate through radical prostatectomy recent studies have revealed that, while the chances of a recurrence are about 18 percent when surgery is carried out by a relatively inexperienced surgeon, this figure falls to under 11 percent in more experience hands. So just what do we mean when we talk about 'experienced hands'?

A recent study looked at just under 8,000 prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy in the United States between 1987 and 2003 involving some 72 surgeons from 4 major academic cancer centers around the country.

The study showed that there is an extremely steep learning curve when it comes to performing prostate surgery and that it takes a significant amount of practice to master this particular surgical technique. Indeed, the study revealed that it was not until surgeons had carried out at least 250 operations that a marked improvement in outcomes was evident.

So just what can we learn from this study if we are facing the possibility of requiring prostate surgery?

First and foremost it is very important for patients to choose a surgeon who frequently undertakes this form of surgery. Indeed, it may well be advisable to choose a surgeon who specializes solely in prostate surgery, or whose work revolves largely around such surgery. In most general hospital settings surgeons will carry out such surgery very infrequently, perhaps as rarely as just once a year, and this is not sufficient to provide them with the expertise needed to provide you with the best possible change of a low recurrence rate.

In the light of this therefore your first choice should without doubt be that of a specialist cancer treatment center and a surgeon whose work involves exclusively, or at least very largely, prostate surgery.

The study also showed however that there is a marked improvement in recurrence rates not merely for specialist cancer centers, but also for teaching hospitals. This is because, within the academic setting, a good deal of emphasis is placed on supporting mechanisms to evaluate the outcome of procedures and to provide feedback in an effort to create an environment of continuous improvement. This tends not always to be the case in non-academic environments. Also, academic centers tend to attract people who are especially interested not just in the outcome of their work but in both correcting their errors and improving their surgical technique.

So, if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of requiring prostate surgery then you would be well advised to elect to undergo surgery at the hands of an experienced surgeon working in a specialist cancer center housed within a major teaching facility.

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