Positive margin rates (PSM) after radical prostatectomy performed by Christopher Luscombe of the Staffordshire Urology Clinic have been consistently about 15% over the last 5 years. This compares with a national average of 38% reported in an article in the medical journal British Journal of Urology International last month. The article describes research carried out on the British Association of Urological Surgeons complex procedures database; a database that all Urology Consultants in the UK are encouraged to report details of operations that they perform to. PSM are associated with a much higher rate of cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy, although many men are still cured even with a PSM, and the lower the rate the better. Our PSM results of only 15% are taken from this database and our further analysis of this database for operations performed in the last 5 years shows that a PSM rate of only 15% is the lowest in the Midlands, although reporting by many surgeons is not comprehensive.

National results from this database for 2012 have just been published (click here).