Are 80% of Prostatectomies Really Unnecessary? With video

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Prostate cancer is a significant concern for men, being one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States. In 2023, approximately 299,010 men received this diagnosis.

Understandably, such a diagnosis can be frightening, leading many to consider aggressive treatment options like radical prostatectomy. However, it's crucial to understand the implications and necessity of this surgical procedure fully before making a decision.

The Reality of Radical Prostatectomies

While prostatectomy can be life-saving for some, it's essential to recognize that it is not always necessary. Alarmingly, estimates suggest that up to 80% of prostatectomies might be avoidable.

This statistic implies that around 72,000 men undergo this invasive surgery without a clear medical necessity each year.

Understanding Unnecessary Surgeries

Many forms of prostate cancer grow slowly and are unlikely to cause significant health problems during a man's lifetime. For these cases, active surveillance—regular monitoring of the cancer without immediate treatment—can often be a safer and equally effective approach.

If it's still accurate today that 80% of prostate surgeries are unnecessary, then men with prostate cancer face a serious problem.

Prostatectomies Make a LOT of Money.

Financial Implications

With 90,000 prostatectomies performed in the USA in 2023, this would mean that 72,000 men had unnecessary surgeries.

With each prostatectomy costing approximately $42,000, that's a total of $3,024,000,000. Of that total amount, urologists typically earn around $8,000 per surgery, amounting to $576 million dollars for unnecessary procedures.

Erectile Dysfunction after surgery affects many men.

Consequences of Prostate Surgery

Incontinence:

Short-Term Recovery: Significant improvement within the first few months for most men, but 10-20% (9,000 - 18,000) may experience persistent incontinence at three months post-surgery.
Long-Term Recovery: About 5-15% of men (4,500 - 13,500) experience long-term incontinence.

Erectile Dysfunction (ED):

30-60% of men (27,000 - 54,000) may experience some form of ED after surgery, with rates increasing with age and other health conditions.

Infections:

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): About 13% to 24% of men develop UTIs post-surgery.
Surgical Site Infections (SSIs): Occur in about 2% to 5% of prostate surgeries.

Mortality:

General Mortality Rate: The 30-day postoperative mortality rate is between 0.1% and 0.5%. Approximately 450 men may die annually from complications related to prostatectomy, with around 360 deaths potentially unnecessary.

Prostate Surgery Risks and Complications

The decision to undergo a prostatectomy should not be taken lightly, given the potential risks and complications. Beyond mortality, prostatectomy can have severe side effects, including impotence and incontinence, significantly impacting a man's quality of life.

A Call for Careful Consideration

Given these statistics, it is crucial for men diagnosed with prostate cancer to avoid rushing into surgery. Instead, consider the following steps:

Get Multiple Opinions: Consult with various healthcare professionals to understand all your options.
Consider Active Surveillance: For low-risk prostate cancer, active surveillance can be an effective strategy.
Weigh the Risks and Benefits: Understand the potential complications and quality-of-life impacts associated with prostatectomy.
Stay Informed: Educate yourself about the nature of your cancer and the latest treatment options.

Recommended book: The Great Prostate Hoax

The Prostate Cancer Warrior's Conclusion

The exact percentage of unnecessary prostatectomies today would need to be determined by recent research and clinical data.

While the 80% figure from Dr. Scholz in 2010 highlighted a significant issue, improvements in medical practice and technology likely mean that fewer unnecessary surgeries are performed now.

It is still crucial for patients to seek multiple opinions and consider all treatment options before proceeding with a prostatectomy.

About the Author

Scott Oliver, 66, is living well with prostate cancer after dedicating more than 4,000 hours to researching the condition. His first goal is to help men reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer through proven lifestyle strategies.

When diagnosed, his mission is to help men avoid unnecessary prostate surgeries that can lead to devastating complications such as incontinence, bleeding, permanent impotence, and a loss of length.

Scott Oliver is not a doctor and does not offer medical advice; however, he is healthier and fitter than he has been in decades. Through his articles and videos, he shares hard-to-find, uncensored information on proven alternative therapies, effective fitness methods, and repurposed drugs, content that most doctors won’t mention and search engines suppress.

He is an accredited member of the National Writers Union (NWU) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s largest organization of professional journalists. Scott is also the author of What If Cancer’s Best Defense Is Free? Sleep as a Defense Against Cancer: A Former Royal Marines Commando’s 4,000-Hour Research Roadmap, where he reveals how sleep repairs DNA, restores immunity, and strengthens the body’s natural defenses against cancer.

You can always contact Scott Oliver here with your questions and suggestions.

Expert Resources Used in this Article:

For more detailed information, please refer to the following sources:

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2024. Common Cancer Types. Estimated new cars of prostate cancer in 2024 = 299,010 with 35,250 estimated deaths. https://www.cancer.gov/types/common-cancers
2024. Key Statistics for Prostate Cancer. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
2024. U.S. Cancer Statistics Prostate Cancer Stat Bite. https://www.cdc.gov/united-states-cancer-statistics/publications/prostate-cancer-stat-bite.html
2023. Urinary tract infection after radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy on the prognosis of patients with prostate cancer: a population-based study. https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-023-10869-4
2023: Primary Question: How Has the Average Number of Radical Prostatectomies Performed by Urologists Changed Over Time? https://auanews.net/issues/articles/2023/october-extra-2023/primary-question-how-has-the-average-number-of-radical-prostatectomies-performed-by-urologists-changed-over-time
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2021. How to Reduce Your Risk of Infection After Prostate Surgery. https://www.bensnaturalhealth.com/blog/how-to-reduce-your-risk-of-infection-after-prostate-surgery
2021. According to a 2021 publication in the National Institute of Health's PubMed Central, the average cost for physician fees for a radical prostatectomy is around $8,000. This can range from $4,028 to $18,720 depending on various factors such as location and complexity of the procedure?. Surgery vs. Radiation for Prostate Cancer: Uses, Benefits, Side Effects
2021. Treating Urinary Incontinence After Prostate Surgery https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/2021/11/treating-urinary-incontinence-after-prostate-surgery
2019. 'The average listed prices (i.e., for an uninsured patient) of a radical prostatectomy procedure varies widely across the nation with mean hospital fees of $34,720 (standard deviation of $20,335 and min-max range of $10,000-$135,000).43 Estimates for physician and anesthetic fees were less robust but averaged over $8,000 (min-max range $4,028—18,720).' Financial toxicity associated with treatment of localized prostate cancer. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8010900/
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2016. National prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy volumes decreased significantly following recommendation against PSA screening https://meyercancer.weill.cornell.edu/news/2016-11-02/national-prostate-biopsy-and-radical-prostatectomy-volumes-decreased-significantly
2014. Robot-Assisted Prostate Cancer Surgery on the Rise https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/robot-assisted-prostate-cancer-surgery-rise
2012. Annual volume of radical prostatectomies in US doubled between 2003 and 2009 https://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2012/04/19/annual-volume-of-radical-prostatectomies-in-us-doubled-between-2003-and-2009/
2011. Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy Has Steep Learning Curve. https://www.onclive.com/view/robotic-assisted-laparoscopic-radical-prostatectomy-has-steep-learning-curve
2010. Doctor: 80% of Prostate Surgeries Are Unnecessary. “Four out of five operations to remove all or part of the prostate gland are unnecessary,” “Our lifetime risk of having a prostate biopsy is one out of two, and our chances of dying from prostate cancer are about one in 50,” says Scholz, who is the co-author of “Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers,” Dr. Mark Scholz, an oncologist who has treated prostate cancer exclusively for 15 years, most of the operations can be avoided. https://www.newsmax.com/Health/Headline/prostate-surgery-unnecessary-prostate-surgery-prostate-cancer-treatments-for-prostate-cancer/2010/10/18/id/476513/
2005. 30-Day Mortality and Major Complications after Radical Prostatectomy: Influence of Age and Comorbidity. https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/97/20/1525/2521436
Erectile Dysfunction After Prostate Surgery: What You Should Know: https://www.pcf.org/about-prostate-cancer/what-is-prostate-cancer/erectile-dysfunction-after-prostate-surgery
Survival Rates for Prostate Cancer. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html
Prostatectomy - Robotic Costs: https://www.mdsave.com/procedures/prostatectomy-robotic/d282ffcc:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdsave.com%2Fprocedures%2Fprostatectomy,100
Urinary Dysfunction After Prostate Cancer Treatment. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/urinary-dysfunction-after-prostate-cancer-treatment
Incontinence After Prostate Surgery. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/incontinence-after-prostate-surgery
https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/2021/11/treating-urinary-incontinence-after-prostate-surgery
Erectile Dysfunction After Prostate Cancer: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/erectile-dysfunction/erectile-dysfunction-after-prostate-cancer