Open prostatectomy: a study on 132 cases done at two hospitals in Port of Spain

ABSTRACT

Clinical data on 132 patients who received open prostatectomy during a 9-year period at two institutions in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, are presented. There were 104 patients from the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and 28 from a private institution. The overall mortality was 38 percent, wound infection contributing to death in most of these cases. The majority of complications which followed prostatectomy performed under the conditions which exist in these two institutions were infective in origin. These can be prevented by performing early prostatectomies when the need for catheterization arises. It is concluded from the results of this study that, despite the conditions which exist at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, open prostatectomy in old men is a safe procedure. (AU)