With a lot of helpful input from this group + Walsh and 2 other good books,
I opted for Robotic RP with Dr. Ash Tewari at Weil Cornell Columbia
Presbyterian in New York City. He and his team are impressive: sharp, caring
and apparently superbly competent. After a day of recovery in the hospital,
I walked a mile and a half the first day home, yesterday four miles, today I
walked 3 miles this morning and will do another three tonight. The hour-long
ride home by car from the hospital was quite painful because of potholes and
the like, and for the two days since my return home, abdominal gas from the
surgery has pushed painfully on my stitches. I also find coughing quite
painful and seem to lose quite a bit of scarlet fluid (over 100 ml every
couple of hours) through a drainage tube in my abdomen, but despite these
concerns, my recovery is much better and faster than I expected.  In
addition to the competence of the Tewari Team, my wonderfully supportive and
helpful family have contributed substantially to this outcome.

The catheter is a nuisance, but not really painful (yet?). I swab my meatus
every few hours with lidocaine(sp?) which seems to minimize chaffing.

Of course, we have yet to see what will happen in the continence, potency
and strictures department, but rapid progress to date makes me hopeful about
those areas as well.

Dr. Tewari said my cancer was quite close to the rectum. He believes my
margins were clear, but because it was so close, he is awaiting the final
pathology report in about a week for confirmation of that assessment. He did
say that he was able to spare both nerve bundles. Alleluia!

So, I thank God, the Tewari Team and my great family that I have plenty of
reason for hope at this stage.