Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: The transperitoneal antegrade approach

Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) has gained increasing importance in the laparoscopic urologic on-cology field and became an established treatment for organ-confined prostate cancer. The initial report of LRP by Schuessler was of nine cases treated through an intraperitoneal approach [1]. Shortly thereafter, a single case of a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy through an extraperitoneal approach was reported [2]. However, in the largest initial series from France, the transperitoneal approach was used [3-6]. With the accu-mulated experience and worldwide use, variations in the approach and the instrumentation used were intro-duced. Herein we will discuss the technique of an ante-grade transperitoneal LRP as currently performed at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).