PCa seeding

Beau2

There has been discussions on this forum about PCa seeding due to biopsies. It appears that PCa seeding is also thought to be a possible problem when the prostate is extracted through an incision.

Last night I learned that when prostates are surgically removed with a DaVinci robot they are tucked into a plastic bag that has a draw string. After the prostate is cut away, but while the prostate is still inside the patient, the surgeon uses the robot to stuff the prostate into the plastic bag and pull the draw string. The plastic bag is used, in part, because of the fear of PCa seeding when the prostate is brought through the small incision. The plastic bag allows the prostate to conform to the size of the incision (i.e. it "squishes" inside the bag but does not drop any drips back into the patient).