How long does prostate surgery last?

• The duration of a prostate operation depends on the technique used, the surgeon's expertise and the patient's own characteristics.
• The prostate operations with the longest duration are radical prostatectomies, both open and minimally invasive by laparoscopy or Da Vinci Robot.
• The prostate operation with the shortest duration is the urethral release with the Urolift System, which relieves the symptoms of BPH in a 15-20 minute outpatient surgery.

After years of experience in the field of surgery, all our doctors agree that beyond knowing the process, which is also true, what patients are most interested in is knowing how long the operation will take, the recovery time or the type of anaesthesia, which can be defined in the following question: When am I going to be well?

In this line we will talk about the duration of operations to alleviate the symptoms of obstructive prostate. This medical condition causes a great deterioration in the quality of life of patients who suffer from it due to the difficulty and almost impossibility of urinating, which can lead to bladder infections and even hernias due to the effort involved.

This procedure is performed under general anaesthesia and can only be performed on prostates of 60cc or less. 

The duration of TURP will depend on the size of the prostate being operated on, but the approximate time is between 30 and 60 minutes. In exceptional cases it can last up to 90 minutes.

This procedure uses the latest laser technology on the market for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. This technique makes it possible to treat prostates of any size in a minimally invasive surgery that reduces recovery times, length of stay and duration of the operation. Although it depends on the characteristics of the patient's prostate, the operation does not usually last more than 30 to 45 minutes.

Thanks to the holmium laser prostate enucleation technique, it is possible to carry out a prostate reduction with similar results to a radical prostatectomy but using a minimally invasive procedure. 

The duration of this procedure is approximately 30 to 50 minutes, which is quite short compared to the 1 to 2 hours of a radical prostatectomy.

This is the ONLY procedure that relieves the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia with an outpatient operation. In addition, it allows full sexual function to be preserved. The duration of this operation is also the shortest of all those mentioned, lasting only 15 to 20 minutes, and the patient can leave the hospital a couple of hours after surgery.

Da Vinci Robot prostate cancer surgery is much more durable because it is a delicate procedure. In this surgery, all the affected tissue with cancerous cells must be removed, so it is necessary to take it easy. 

The duration of this prostate intervention is 2 to 3 hours, being able to treat any type of prostate and obtaining very effective results.

Although the duration of prostate operations differs, they are all effective in relieving the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia or, in the case of the Da Vinci Robot, prostate cancer. 

The big difference between them is the reduction in recovery times and the likelihood of postoperative complications such as erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence or retrograde ejaculation. 

To find out more about each of these prostate operations, click on the corresponding link:

• Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) surgery

• Thulium laser prostate surgery

• Holmium laser prostate surgery

• Urolift Prostate surgery