Comparison of costs and benefits of robotic and laparoscopic prostatectomies

Abstract

Introduction: Prostate cancer is the second most common neoplasia among the Brazilian men, and the second most lethal in the US. As treatment, radical prostatectomy has been performed, which evolve from conventional laparoscopy to robotic surgery. The economical values of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in the US has not been fully comprehended, since the analyses have been limited. These limitations as reflected worldwide, justifying the research regarding the costs and effectivity of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Objective: To describe the direct values of surgery and postoperative, to achieve drug costs, surgical and late complications and recovery time, in order to compare laparoscopic and robotic prostatectomy. Materials and methods: 72 medical records will be analyzed over a 12-month period, regarding socio-demographical data, comorbities and previous surgeries, oncological history, disease information and exams results. The costs will be searched in the Information System and in the Supply Management and Billing sectors of the Barretos Cancer Hospital. Finally, costs and benefits of robot-assisted prostatectomy will be compared to laparoscopic surgery. Expected results: It is expected the discrimination of actual costs of prostatectomies performed through laparoscopy and robot-assistance. Furthermore, it is expected to find different quantities of surgical and late complications between the two techniques. This project will contribute for a better choice of surgical type, prevealing the best cost-benefit for the patients and institutions. (AU)