The impact of obesity on laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

• Published in: BJU international 2006-12, Vol.98 (6), p.1279-1282
• Main Authors: Eden, Christopher G., Chang, Christopher M., Gianduzzo, Troy, Moon, Daniel A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - complications; Adenocarcinoma - surgery; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Child; Humans; laparoscopic surgery; Laparoscopy; Length of Stay; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Obesity - complications; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Prospective Studies; prostate cancer; prostatectomy; Prostatectomy - methods; Prostatic Neoplasms - complications; Prostatic Neoplasms - surgery; Retrospective Studies; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the genital tract and mammary gland; Treatment Outcome; Tumors of the urinary system; Urinary tract. Prostate gland
• ISSN: 1464-4096; 1464-410X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2006.06443.x

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of obesity on the operative variables of patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP). PATIENTS AND METHODS The database entries and case‐notes of 532 consecutive patients undergoing LRP from March 2000 to August 2005 were examined retrospectively. Complete data were available on 505 (95%) patients, 108 (21%) of whom were obese (body mass index, BMI, ≥ 30 kg/m2). All patients had clinical stage T ≤ 3aN0M0 prostate cancer and had their procedure done or supervised by the same surgeon. RESULTS The patients’ prostate‐specific antigen level, Gleason score, clinical stage and prostate weight were similar. The mean values for patients deemed not obese and obese were: for operative duration (182 and 197 min, P = 0.01), blood loss (310 and 250 mL, P = 0.66), hospital stay (3.0 and 3.3 nights, P = 1.00), complications (3.5% and 4.6%, P = 0.77), positive margins (15.4% and 20.6%, P = 0.26) and biochemical recurrence (3.8% and 3.7%, P = 1.00) at a mean follow‐up of 9.7 and 12.0 months, respectively. CONCLUSION The operation was significantly longer for obese patients, by a mean of 15 min; all other variables were comparable in the two groups. The results from this study suggest that obese patients can expect a similar outcome to their non‐obese counterparts after LRP, when operated on by an experienced surgeon.