Prostate Cancer? Why Radical Surgery/Robotic Prostatectomy is NOT For You

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As the world's top urologists begin the 107th Annual AUA Meeting in Atlanta this Friday, one of the nation's top prostate cancer specialists is challenging his colleagues to initiate long term studies to scientifically, objectively and reliably inform patients as to when and how to treat localized prostate cancer.

"Many uninformed, vulnerable men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer are purposely steered towards conventional surgery or robotic prostatectomy, neither of which have proven to result in any significant long curative benefits, however, both have a history of long-term post operative quality of life problems," challenged Dr. Bert Vorstman, a Florida urologist with nearly 30 years experience in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.

In a recent assessment, http://www.urologyweb.com/urology/mens-health/prostate-cancer/why-radical-surgery-a-robotic-prostatectomy-is-not-for-you.html, Dr. Vorstman decries the "ignorant and arrogant academic bullying for deliberate and continued promotion of radical prostate surgery/robotics as the preferred treatment" and the accepted use of "inadequate and incomplete clinical information used to counsel and treat a patient with prostate cancer today."

Dr. Vorstman's critical review describes a laundry list of significant complications resulting from radical surgery, including untreated cancer left behind, total impotence or erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence or ejaculation of urine, bladder neck scarring or contracture and shortened penis to name a few.

"The promotion of these procedures as "The Gold Standard" and "FDA Approved" to serve the financial interests of an industry is simply shameful in the absence of long-term scientific clinical trials," Dr. Vorstman said.

Over the last few years, according to Dr. Vorstman, sophisticated advancements in several minimally invasive prostate cancer treatments such as cryoablation, radiation/proton, hifu and others offer patients options to the heavy-handed surgical approach to prostate removal.

"Only after some very important, long-term scientific studies have been undertaken and completed will physicians have the pivotal information to make men truly informed and stop this ongoing human experimentation with robotic cancer treatment," said Vorstman.

SOURCE Dr. Bert Vorstman