Learning the lessons from 1000 robot-assisted radical prostatectomy procedures.

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy is becoming the method of choice for the surgical removal of the prostate [ 2 ] , with a substantial proportion of radical prostatectomies performed this way in the UK in 2011 .The wristed instruments, 3D vision and 10x magnifi cation and the robotic cart, which obviate the need for an assistant to hold the camera, facilitate the operation, especially the creation of watertight urethrovesical anastomosis. Since we adopted this technology, our patients have not been troubled by any of the anastomotic strictures that used to occur after open radical prostatectomy, and anastomotic leak rates are < 2% [ 3 ] .