Does the medical evidence justify robotic assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy as the new gold standard for radical prostatectomy?

Today, over 70% of radical prostatectomies (RP) are performed using the daVinci robot. The robot has been heavily promoted and marketed to both the urologic community and the lay public as a minimally invasive and superior alternative to open radical prostatectomy. The robot has also been heavily promoted to hospitals as a means to increase market share by advertising “cutting edge” technology. Web sites promoting this new technology have consistently failed to legitimize claims of superiority with credible medical evidence. The time has come to critically examine whose interests have been best served by the robot: the patients, the surgeons, or the health care delivery system? As physicians who have taken the Hippocratic oath, it is the interest of the patient we must pursue and defend.