John Rutherford, diagnosed with prostate cancer this spring, went in to have his prostate removed at Zale Lipshy University Hospital on a Friday afternoon. By Sunday afternoon, he was back at home.

DALLAS, John Rutherford, diagnosed with prostate cancer this spring, went in to have his prostate removed at Zale Lipshy University Hospital on a Friday afternoon. By Sunday afternoon, he was back at home.

A UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas surgeon removed his cancerous prostate using only a few small incisions and a tiny video camera. The new procedure, called laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, reduced Rutherford’s pain and recovery time and made his hospital visit as short as a weekend getaway.

A retired maintenance supervisor, Rutherford, 69, enjoys fishing and spending time on land he owns in West Texas. A lengthy hospital stay and recovery weren’t part of his retirement plans.

“I read about the laparoscopic procedure, and I found a doctor doing it,” he said. “My health is my top priority, but if I can make surgery easier I will.”

Only a few physicians in the state do laparoscopic radical prostatectomies. Doctors performing the surgery at UT Southwestern received special training to perform the procedure, which was developed in France.

Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu, Rutherford’s surgeon, says the procedure eliminates much of the pain and recovery time commonly associated with prostate removal.

“In the laparoscopic procedure, only a few small incisions are necessary,” said Cadeddu, assistant professor of urology. “A traditional prostatectomy requires a long incision in the abdomen and much more pain for the patient.”

Recovery time for a traditional prostatectomy can last up to eight weeks, and patients spend two or three days in the hospital

In the laparoscopic procedure, a tiny video camera is inserted in one incision, and the prostate is removed through the other incisions while the surgeon is guided by use of a video monitor. Patients are back to normal activities in two to four weeks and typically spend less than two days in the hospital.

Ultimately, Cadeddu said, the laparoscopic procedure could become the surgery of choice for prostate cancer patients.

For Rutherford, the surgery was a total success.

“I could have driven home myself on Sunday afternoon if they’d let me,” the Fort Worth resident said. “Everything went just as I’d hoped.”

And with his prostate now gone, the cancer should be gone as well.

One in six men develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. It is the most common form of cancer in American men, only to skin cancer, and it is the leading cause of cancer death in American men behind lung cancer.

Prostate cancer, however, is a highly treatable disease. With early detection facilitated by yearly checks of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) level in the blood, almost 75 percent of prostate cancers are discovered while still confined to the prostate. The five-year survival rate for prostate cancer caught while still confined to the prostate, like Rutherford’s, is almost 100 percent.