ROBOTIC SURGERY?

Is Robotic Prostate Surgery Really Better?
By TARA PARKER-POPE
In today’s New York Times, health reporter Gina Kolata explores the marketing and the science behind robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery.

Last year, 73,000 American men — 86 percent of the 85,000 who had prostate cancer surgery — had robot-assisted operations. Ms. Kolata writes:

It is not known whether robot-assisted prostate surgery gives better, worse or equivalent long-term cancer control than the traditional methods … Meanwhile, marketing has moved into the breach, with hospitals and surgeons advertising their services with claims that make critics raise their eyebrows.