One point that is debated among urologists is the time a patient has to wait between a prostate biopsy and surgery. While I was at Indiana my chairman taught me that time didn’t matter. The changes after a biopsy should not affect surgery after several days.
I took this with me to New Jersey and routinely perform robotic prostatetectomy within 6 weeks of biopsy. I havent had any problems with this and I have done surgery as soon as 2 weeks after biopsy. I would appreciate urologist or patient comments on this topic.
Evidence based medicine affirms my position: Urologists and epidemiologists from the University of Iowa have studied this topic.
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The other points about waiting to have prostate cancer surgery is usually its not a rush. Most patients with early prostate cancer and a favorable gleason score can wait 3 months after diagnosis.
I usually tailor the timing of the operation to a patients needs:
Are they in a rush to have surgery done for social issues?
Are they going on vacation in 5 weeks and its better to wait until they get back?
Are they very anxious and loosing quality of life waiting at home?
Is there cancer more aggressive (gleason 8-10) and I should get it done as soon as my schedule allows?
Most patients get scheduled within 4 weeks in my office. It is the advantage of having 3 robots at NBI where I perform the surgery.