Experience Really Is Important When It Comes To Prostate Cancer Surgery

by: Donald Saunders

With the majority of things in life it is fair to say that the more practiced and experienced you are the better your performance and this would certainly seem to be the case with prostate cancer surgery.

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

A recently conducted study looked at 7,800 prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy surgery in the United States between 1987 and 2003 involving no fewer than 72 surgeons from 4 major academic cancer centers around the country.

Interestingly enough the study found that there is a very steep learning curve when it comes to performing prostate surgery and that it requires a significant amount of practice to master this particular surgical technique. Indeed, the study showed that it was not until surgeons had carried out at least 250 operations that a marked improvement in outcomes was witnessed.

So just what can we learn from this study if we are faced with the prospect of having to undergo prostate surgery?

First and foremost it is extremely important that patients select a surgeon who regularly performs this type of surgery. Indeed, it might well be advisable to select a surgeon who specializes exclusively in prostate surgery, or whose work revolves largely around such surgery. In the majority of general hospital settings surgeons will carry out such surgery very infrequently, perhaps as rarely as just one or twice a year, and this is not enough 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 a specialist cancer treatment center and a surgeon whose work involves exclusively, or very largely, prostate surgery.

The study also demonstrated however that there is a significant improvement in recurrence rates not simply for specialist cancer centers, but also for teaching hospitals. This is undoubtedly because, within an academic environment, 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 in which continuous improvement is seen. This tends not always to be the case in non-academic environments. Additionally, academic centers tend to attract people who are especially interested not only in the outcome of their work but in both correcting their errors and improving their surgical technique.

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

ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on prostate cancer symptoms and all aspects of prostate cancer treatment

source:searchwarp.com