Surgery of Primary Site
See the current version of the SEER Program Coding Manual under Reporting Guidelines, Section VII: First Course of Therapy for complete coding instructions for the surgery data items or Appendix C of the current version of the SEER Program Coding Manual for a complete listing of the prostate surgery codes and their descriptions.
Surgery is a common form of treatment for Prostate cancer; however, not all surgical procedures remove the entire prostate gland. TURP’s, simple prostatectomies and prostatectomy, NOS are usually done to treat Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) and sometimes there is an incidental finding of prostate cancer.
Radical prostatectomies are the only surgical procedures that remove the entire prostate.
| Surgical Procedure | Comments |
|---|---|
| Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) | This is a minimally invasive laser surgery that removes tissue from the prostate, mostly for urinary obstruction caused by BPH. This procedure is not normally done for prostate cancer. |
| Transurethral resection of the Prostate (TURP) | A surgical procedure to remove tissue from the prostate using a resectoscope (a thin, lighted tube with a cutting tool) inserted through the urethra. This procedure is often done to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy, and it can also be done to relieve symptoms caused by a tumor before other cancer treatment is given. Although this is coded as a surgical procedure in the cancer abstract, this is not a surgical procedure. It does not remove the cancer. This is part of the clinical workup. |
| Simple Prostatectomy | This prostatectomy removes the inner, overgrown core of the prostate gland. The capsule is left intact. This procedure does NOT remove the entire prostate. Other names for simple prostatectomies
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| Radical Prostatectomy | A surgical procedure to remove the prostate, surrounding tissue, and seminal vesicles (including the capsule). Regional lymph nodes may also be removed. Other names for radical prostatectomies include
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Document surgery details in NAACCR Item #2610: Text-Dx Proc-Surg.
Updated: June 15, 2026
Suggested Citation
SEER Training Modules: Surgery of Primary Site. U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Cited 17 June 2026. Available from: https://training.seer.cancer.gov.