while the da vinci robot assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (ralp) is popular it is still a major operation and still can be complicated. in general i am skeptical about ralp and feel that the surgeon's experience is more important than the machine. in fact open surgery may be less invasive than ralp. in other words most surgeons who perform ralp do so through multiple abdominal cavity incisions. on the other hand the open retropubic radical prostatectomy (rrp) is done through a pure retroperitoneal approach meaning that the incision is very low on the abdomen-below the naval (belly button) and the operation stays out of the abdomial cavity where the intestines are located. for someone with ulcerative colitis there would be a possible advantage to the open surgery if you have had prior abdominal surgery because the ralp would go into the abdominal cavity (with most surgeons) and might cause more complications. you should consider consulting with both a ralp and an open surgeon.
are there any issues with having da vinci prostate surgery if you already have ulcerative colitis?