What’s the trifecta of prostate cancer surgery?

Radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer is one of the mainstays of treatment for prostate cancer, especially limited prostate cancer. Ideally, prostate cancer surgery requires a trifecta, i.e., complete removal of the tumor while being able to control urination and maintain sexual function. However, in reality it is more difficult to achieve the trifecta. Because the prostate gland is in a critical area for controlling urination and access to the male external genitalia’s neurovascular system, radical prostate cancer surgery will inevitably cause damage, leading to postoperative incontinence and sexual dysfunction. With advances in technology and deeper research into the structures surrounding the prostate, surgeons are constantly improving surgical techniques to get as close to the trifecta as possible. The use of laparoscopy, particularly robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, has made the procedure more minimally invasive, with as little damage as possible to the periprostatic structures and enhanced protection of the structures associated with urinary control and sexual function. Recovery of sexual function can be facilitated by protection of the sexual nerves. While protecting the sexual nerves, the periurethral structures related to urination that were damaged during the surgery can also be repaired through improved techniques to maintain good postoperative urinary control or to promote the early recovery of urinary control after the surgery, and to facilitate the patient’s recovery.