Standard Dressing Forceps — 18cm Radical Prostatectomy

The 18cm-labelled standard dressing forceps serves open radical prostatectomy — the operation that removes the entire prostate gland with seminal vesicles for prostate cancer staged for surgical treatment. Open radical prostatectomy through a Pfannenstiel or low-midline incision has been largely displaced by robotic prostatectomy at modern centres, but residual open indications and the open-conversion tray ensure the 18cm dressing forceps remains in modern urology practice.

The Walsh nerve-sparing technique

Patrick Walsh’s 1982 description of the anatomic neurovascular bundles lateral to the prostate transformed radical prostatectomy from a procedure that universally produced erectile dysfunction into one that could preserve erectile function in 60-80% of selected patients. The technique requires precise lateral dissection along the prostatic capsule to preserve the cavernous nerves. The 18cm dressing forceps handles the prostatic-lateral tissue without disturbing the underlying neurovascular bundles.

The open-versus-robotic outcome comparison

Robotic radical prostatectomy produces equivalent oncologic outcomes to open and modestly better short-term recovery; long-term continence and erectile-function outcomes are similar between the approaches at experienced centres. Surgeon preference and centre capability drive the technique selection.