Costs in surgical techniques for radical prostatectomy: a review of the current state.

INTRODUCTION: We carried out a mini-review of the literature in order to obtain a snapshot of the present state of the art of surgical techniques costs available for radical prostatectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a MEDLINE search strategy and one economist assessed the included studies using the NHS EED guidelines for reviewers.

RESULTS: When observing costs by the author, it is possible to trace up a trend line of increasing costs which starts off with RPP, passes through RRP and LRP and ends up with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Two studies do not agree with this. One author claims that LRP is less costly than radical retropubic prostatectomy whereas another one agrees on radical perineal prostatectomy and radical retropubic prostatectomy but does not on RAP, which he claims to be less costly.

CONCLUSIONS: The data shown in our study outline a situation by which the observed studies highlight: different costs of the techniques and incapability to achieve a conclusion about the technique with less average costs. These results can be considered in an explorative way and cannot be generalized. They maintain a strictly approximate value in local realities having only an informative purpose.