Outcomes after Radical Prostatectomy in Ghanaians: A Surgeon's Early Experience

Abstract

Background. There is a lack of expertise in the procedure of open radical retropubic prostatectomy in West Africa therefore necessitating the training of urologists in the subregion in this procedure. Aim. This report looks at the early outcomes of a single surgeon in this procedure after an SIU fellowship. Methodology. A prospective study of the initial twenty consecutive patients with clinically localized prostate cancer that underwent open radical retropubic prostatectomy at the Korle Bu Teaching hospital, Accra. Results. The mean followup was 19.5 months (range 7 months–36 months). The mean age was 62.7 yrs. For the clinical stage, 60% were T1c and 40% T2a with a mean Gleason score of 6.5. The mean estimated blood loss was 1140.0 mLs with a transfusion rate of 70%. For the pathologic stage, pT2 cancers formed 60%, pT3 25%, and pT4 5% with a mean Gleason score of 6.8. No lymph node involvement was noted. The perioperative complications rate was 15%, a postoperative potency recovery rate of 78.6% with all the patients being continent of urine. The tPSA of 95% of the patients had remained less than 0.4 ng/mL. Conclusion. The SIU scholarship offers an avenue for training in radical prostatectomy for sub-Saharan Africa.

Outcome of radical retropubic prostatectomy at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital

“…The mean age among our patients is comparable to other reports from populations of African descent 912. However, many of our patients are men who were asymptomatic but discovered from routine screening, unlike these previous studies 912.…”

“…Radical prostatectomy is the gold standard for early prostate cancer6 and has been shown to reduce progression to metastasis and death from the disease in randomized controlled trials 7. However, open radical prostatectomy is technically one of the most difficult operations in the field of urology and most urologists in Nigeria and West Africa do not have the expertise and experience for this operation 89. The training of the authors included a significant experience in radical retropubic prostatectomy.…”

Prostate Cancer Disease Characteristics at the Time of Diagnosis and Initial Treatment Offered in a Tertiary Hospital at Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

“…Radical prostatectomy remains the gold standard for treatment of organ confined prostate cancer [28,29]. Only 3 radical prostatectomies (1.8% of patients) were done in our study.…”

Prostate Cancer in Sub Saharan Africa

“…A recent report indicates an increase in the number of radical prostatectomies performed in this center [44]. Other reports of radical prostatectomy were published in South Africa [45] and in Ghana where Kyei et al [46] indicate that patients with localized disease can safely undergo radical prostatectomy with limited complications.…”