Comparing Oncological Outcomes and Surgical Complications of Hand-Assisted, Laparoscopic and Robotic Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

PurposeThis study aimed to compare the oncological outcomes and surgical complications of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) treated with different minimally invasive techniques for nephroureterectomy.MethodsFrom the updated data of the Taiwan UTUC Collaboration Group, a total of 3,333 UTUC patients were identified. After excluding ineligible cases, we retrospectively included 1,340 patients from 15 institutions who received hand-assisted laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (HALNU), laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (LNU) or robotic nephroureterectomy (RNU) between 2001 and 2021. Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazards model were used to analyze the survival outcomes, and binary logistic regression model was selected to compare the risks of postoperative complications of different surgical approaches.ResultsAmong the enrolled patients, 741, 458 and 141 patients received HALNU, LNU and RNU, respectively. Compared with RNU (41.1%) and LNU (32.5%), the rate of lymph node dissection in HALNU was the lowest (17.4%). In both Kaplan-Meier and univariate analysis, the type of surgery was significantly associated with overall and cancer-specific survival. The statistical significance of surgical methods on survival outcomes remained in multivariate analysis, where patients undergoing HALNU appeared to have the worst overall (p = 0.007) and cancer-specific (p = 0.047) survival rates among the three groups. In all analyses, the surgical approach was not related to bladder recurrence. In addition, HALNU was significantly associated with longer hospital stay (p = 0.002), and had the highest risk of major Clavien-Dindo complications (p = 0.011), paralytic ileus (p = 0.012), and postoperative end-stage renal disease (p <0.001).ConclusionsMinimally invasive surgery can be safe and feasible. We proved that compared with the HALNU group, the LNU and RNU groups have better survival rates and fewer surgical complications. It is crucial to uphold strict oncological principles with sophisticated technique to improve outcomes. Further prospective studies are needed to validate our findings.

Robotic nephroureterectomy in a horseshoe kidney for upper tract urothelial carcinoma

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma represents a small proportion (5%–10%) of all urothelial cancers. Although there are several management options, in undifferentiated or high-risk cases, surgery in the form of nephroureterectomy is the gold standard. Horseshoe kidney is the most common congenital renal fusion anomaly affecting 1 in 400–600 patients. We present the case of a smoker in her mid-50s with an incidental finding of a papillary lesion in the right renal pelvis of her horseshoe kidney on CT scan. She went on to have endoscopic assessment confirming no other foci of disease. She was definitively managed with a robotic nephroureterectomy.

634 Review of Nephroureteric Surgical Service in a District Urological Center

Background New Cross hospital has been offering radical/partial nephrectomy, nephro-ureterectomy for cancer patients and simple nephrectomy for non-functioning kidney with availability of robotic system facilities since 2016. Methodology Retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively between January 2019 and September 2019. All patients underwent nephrectomy/nephroureterectomy and their demographic, comorbidities and surgical outcomes data analysed. Results 7 underwent lap robotic nephroureterectomy, 27 underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, 4 underwent laparoscopic simple nephrectomy, compared to total of 13 combined cases in 2018. FtM ratio- 1:1.92(13:25). Mean cohort age 64. Mean cohort BMI is 28.3. Mean pre-op HB is 132.9. Average op time for nephroureterectomy is 247 minutes, nephrectomy is 108.2 minutes. Average blood lost is 70mls, no patient of the cohort required any blood transfusion. 1 case sustained splenic laceration had surgical repair, 1 case was abandoned due to extensive bowel involvement. No cases required conversion from laparoscopic to open procedure. Post operatively, 1 patient developed VT, 1 patient had subcut haematoma, Average increase in serum creatinine is 42, and average Hb drop is 10.7. Average admission period were 3.7 days. Conclusions Our urological centre manage to perform more laparoscopic nephroureteric procedures as compare to previous year without much decline in terms of patient surgical outcome.