Techniques of Prostate Cancer Surgery

The operation to remove a cancerous prostate gland is called radical prostatectomy. If there is a likelihood that the cancer has spread to you lymph nodes, your surgeon may remove some to check them for cancer. The operation can be done using a traditional incision low in the abdomen (open surgery) or several tiny incisions that allow the surgeon to use a robot to remove the prostate gland (robotic surgery).

At Stanford, we have surgeons skilled in both open and robotic surgery. Because robotic surgery is associated with less pain, less blood loss, and a faster recovery, our surgeons will try to perform your surgery robotically whenever feasible.