Robotic prostatectomy needs a hospital stay. Procedures may vary depending on your condition and your healthcare provider’s practices.

You will be asked to remove any jewelry or other objects that might get in the way during procedure.

You will remove your clothing and put on a hospital gown.

You will be asked to empty your bladder.

An IV (intravenous) line will be started in your arm or hand. Antibiotics and medicines to reduce your risk of blood clots may be given.

You will be given anesthesia that puts you to sleep for the procedure. Or that makes you relax and feel numb from the waist down.

Your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and oxygen level will be watched closely during the procedure.

You will most likely lie on your back on a special table that holds your legs apart.

A soft, flexible tube called a catheter will be put into your bladder to drain urine.

If there is a lot of hair at the incision sites, it may be shaved off.

The skin over the surgical site will be cleaned with an antiseptic solution.

The surgeon will then make several small cuts into your lower belly.

The robotic arms will be placed over you, and the video camera and instruments will be put into your belly through these cuts.

The surgeon will cut away your prostate, the seminal vesicles, and some nearby lymph nodes and take them out through the small cuts. The urethra will be sewn to the bladder. A new catheter will be placed into the bladder.

All of the tools will be removed, and the cuts will be closed with skin glue, stitches, or small strips of tape.

A bandage or dressing will be put on the sites.