What blood management strategies are used before radical prostatectomy?
Surgeons at the Smilow Center who perform open surgery recommend using erythropoietin-stimulating proteins (ESP) preoperatively to stimulate the body’s natural red blood cell–manufacturing mechanisms. Smilow Center physicians performed the pioneering work on this blood management technique and have published many peer-reviewed papers on the safety and effectiveness of this approach (Nieder AM, Rosenblum N, Lepor H. Urol. 57(4):737-41 (2001); Rosenblum N, Levine MA, Handler T, Lepor H. J. Urol. 163(3):829-33 (2000); Chun TY, Martin S, Lepor H. Urol. 50(5):727 (1997)). The overall blood loss has been reported to be slightly lower during robotic prostatectomy than for open prostatectomy. However, when candidates for open surgery receive erythropoietin-stimulating proteins, this benefit of robotic surgery is eliminated, as it relates to blood volume at the time of hospital discharge. In addition, it is important to note that blood transfusion rates are identical for robotic and open prosta
