ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this article is to explain the role of urology nurse in prehabilitation and same-day discharge programs for robotic radical prostatectomy. METHODS: This article is based on the analysis of the literature and the experience of our center. RESULTS: In order to prepare patients for outpatient surgery, urology nurse plays a key role during prehabilitation journeys. Two weeks before the operation, the healthcare teams (nurses, anesthetists, physiotherapists, etc.) organize workshops to explain to patients the operation course and post-operative care in order to allay any anxieties. Individual and group interviews, in specific workshops (compression stockings, urinary catheter, sexology) are organized in particular with urology nurse to answer all patients' questions. In association with enhanced recovery after surgery pathway, these programs improve the patient experience and satisfaction as well as peri-operative outcomes, and allows the development of an outpatient surgery program which currently represents approximately one third of surgeries. CONCLUSION: The implementation of perioperative protocols including prehabilitation improves the early results of robotic total prostatectomy, but also the patient experience. The urology nurse has a key role to play during these patient education days and in the preparation, information, support and follow-up of the patient, since the prehabilitation journey until the patient leaves the outpatient clinic.
