Reply to Editorial Comment

We appreciate the insightful comments from Dr. Filon and Dr. Schmidt on our study evaluating dorsal venous complex (DVC) control during robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy.1 Our findings demonstrate that, despite the perceived intraoperative advantage of robotic stapling due to improved visualization of the DVC, there was no significant difference in positive surgical margin rates between robotic stapling and oversewing.2 While stapling was associated with a modest reduction in DVC control time, we agree that this should be considered alongside the increased cost, particularly in the context of value-based care, where such differences may be amplified at a systems level. We believe further investigation of robotic stapling and oversewing is warranted through adequately powered randomized control trials with multisurgeon cohorts, as well as the evaluation of functional outcomes such as continence, and we strongly agree that interpretations of these findings require a careful understanding of data limitations.