The relative risk of having positive surgical margins in patients undergoing open radical retropubic prostatectomy compared to laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is not known. Preliminary publications regarding laparoscopic radical prostatectomy report rates of positive surgical margins (13-25%) that are similar to open radical prostatectomy (11-46%).2, 5, 6, 19, 21-28 However, long-term follow-up is not available for patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, so the impact of positive margins on long-term survival is not known.