Fall 2012 - 08.pdf 652 | Urology and Nephrology Research Center; Depart- ment of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Shahid Labbafinejad Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sci- ences, Tehran, Iran Seyed Amir Mohsen Ziaee, Valiollah Azizi, Akbar Nouralizadeh, Shahram Gooran, Mohammad Hadi Radfar, Mahboobeh Mirzaei Laparoscopic Nephroureterectomy with Concomitant Open Bladder Cuff Excision A Single Center Experience Corresponding Author: Akbar Nouralizadeh, MD Urology and Nephrology Research Center; Depart- ment of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Shahid Labbafinejad Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sci- ences, Tehran, Iran Tel: +98 914 323 2025 Fax: +98 21 2258 8016 E-mail: Nouralizadeh@ yahoo.com Received August 2011 Accepted April 2012 Purpose: - sion for management of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma, who - ber 2004 and October 2010, were studied retrospectively. Operation time, blood loss, analgesic dose, and complications were recorded. Local and port site recurrence, distant metastasis, and survival rate were also evaluated. Results: Patients consisted of 18 men and 4 women, with the mean age of 64.1 years (range, 52 to 83 years). Right upper urinary tract was the involved site in 12 patients and left in 10 patients. Mean operation time was 216 minutes (range, 145 to 395 minutes) and mean hospital stay was 4.3 days. Mean follow-up period was 36.57 months (range, 6 to 65 months). No trocar site recurrence oc- curred. Three-year overall survival and metastasis-free survival were 95% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: and bladder cuff through the same inevitable incision that is needed for specimen retrieval, without adding any more morbidity to the patient, a win-win radical surgery. Keywords: laparoscopy, transitional cell carcinoma, kidney pelvis, neoplasm invasiveness LAPAROSCOPIC UROLOGY Laparoscopic Urology 653Vol. 9 | No. 4 | Fall 2012 |U R O LO G Y J O U R N A L INTRODUCTION P rimary upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UC) constitutes about 5% of all urothelial malignancies. (1) Although relatively uncommon, the incidence of upper urinary tract UC appears to increase gradually.(2-4) Tra- ditional treatment for upper urinary tract UC is open radical (5) laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (LNU). They reported reduced peri-operative morbidity, shorter hospital stay, and lower blood transfusion rate compared to open nephroure- terectomy (ONU).(6-8) Despite initial concerns about onco- logical outcomes, LNU and ONU had similar oncological effectiveness.(9) Different approaches, such as open, laparoscopic (transperi- toneal and retroperitoneal), hand-assisted, and endoscopic techniques have been used for distal ureterectomy. While each approach has own advantages and disadvantages, the gold standard technique for distal ureterectomy has not yet (10,11) - sion through a pfannenstiel incision for patients with upper urinary tract UC, who are candidate for laparoscopic radical surgery. Here, we present results of the procedure in a retro- spective study. This method adds no morbidity to the patients because the incision, which is inevitably required for speci- MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-two patients with upper urinary tract UC who had October 2010 were studied retrospectively. and computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis. All - geons. After induction of general anesthesia, patients were - car was inserted at the umbilicus using the open technique. Then, a 10-mm pararectal and two 5-mm epigastric ports were introduced for instruments. Laparoscopic transperito- neal nephrectomy was performed classically, and then, the ureter was dissected down up to the level of the pelvic brim, but not divided. Then, patient’s position was changed to su- pine, and a pfannenstiel incision was made. Retzius space was developed, the bladder was opened, and the ipsilateral Distal ureter with a 1-cm margin of the bladder cuff adja- ureter was released completely from the bladder wall trans- peritoneally. The specimen, including the kidney and ureter attached to the bladder cuff, was removed intact and en bloc from the pfannenstiel incision. Bladder wall was repaired in 2 layers using absorbable sutures. After insertion of a drain, wound was closed anatomically. All the patients were ambulated on the 1st postoperative day. Foley catheter was removed on the 5th to 7th postoperative day if drain discharge was not too much. Wound drain was removed when drain discharge was less than 30 cc in 24 hours. Intra-operative and postoperative features were also reviewed. RESULTS Patients consisted of 18 men and 4 women, with the mean age of 64.1 years (range, 52 to 83 years). Demographic data of the patients are shown in Table. Mean operation time was 216 minutes (range, 150 to 400 minutes). Mean intra-oper- ative blood loss was 314 cc (range, 150 to 1500 cc). One patient needed blood transfusion intra-operatively. Mean hospital stay was 4.3 days. Postoperative blood trans- fusion was required for two patients. None of the patients had postoperative analgesic dose requirement was morphine sul- fate 12 mg. Pathologic reports of all the patients were UC, with stage Ta, T1, T2, T3, and T4 seen in 3, 9, 7, 2, and 1 patients, respec- tively. Tumor was high grade in 4 patients (one T1, two T3, and one T4), and low grade in 18. Mean follow-up period was 36.57 months (range, 6 to 65 months). One patient with high-grade T4 tumor died because of tumor recurrence in the bladder and distant metastasis at 1 year after the operation. One patient with high-grade T3 tumor developed the bowel and liver metastasis at 1 year af- ter the operation, and received chemotherapy. Bladder recur- Laparoscopic Nephroureterectomy with Open Bladder Cuff Excision | Ziaee et al 654 | rence was seen in 3 patients. All the bladder recurrences were Ta according to transurethral resection of the bladder tumor pathology reports. No trocar site tumor recurrence was seen. In this study, overall 3-year survival and metastasis-free sur- vival were 95% and 90%, respectively. DISCUSSION Although UC of the upper urinary tract is much less com- mon than the bladder UC, it usually presents at a higher grade and stage compared to the bladder UC. Low-grade and high- grade UCs represent 18% to 59% and 41% to 47% of the upper urinary tract UCs, respectively.(12,13) Regarding the correlation between grade and stage of these tumors, it is not surprising that almost 50% of the patients present with stage T2 tumors at diagnosis.(10) Low-grade and low-stage tumors could be managed by various strategies other than nephro- ureterectomy; however, standard treatment with nephroure- - centage of the patients. In parallel with technical and instrumental advances, lapa- roscopy is increasingly used in uro-oncology surgeries. Clay- (6) Later, several authors reported case series of LNU and compared its peri-operative results with ONU.(14,15) There A review by Stewart and associates showed that long-term oncological outcome of LNU is similar to ONU.(9) In another long-term oncological outcomes of LNU are not different from ONU.(10) A point of controversy still debated is the management of the distal ureter and bladder cuff. While various minimally- invasive techniques have been described, it is not yet clari- (16) The main used techniques include transurethral resection of the ureteral ori- - cal laparoscopic detachment and ligation technique, laparo- scopic stapling of the distal ureter and bladder cuff, and open technique. Each technique offers certain advantages and disadvan- tages.(17) Pluck technique involves aggressive transurethral into the perivesical fat. Although it is a rapid and easy tech- nique, there are two main drawbacks. There is a risk for incomplete removal of the ureter and potential for leakage of urine containing malignant cells into the retroperitoneal space.(11) These risks are associated with potential for local tumor recurrence and tumor implantation, as reported by several authors.(18,19) Intussusception technique, which is a transurethral proce- dure, was initially used in ONU, and its long-term results in contraindicated in any ureteral tumor, and does not guarantee complete removal of the intramural ureter and bladder cuff. the ureteral mucosa.(5) Transvesical laparoscopic detachment and ligation technique, transvesical laparoscopic ports. It adheres to the oncological the distal ureter. Gill and colleagues compared the oncologi- cal outcomes of LNU using this technique with ONU, and re- (14) Drawbacks include need for repositioning the patient, adding 60 to 90 minutes to the operation time, risk of tumor spillage from the bladder ports, Laparoscopic Urology Demographic data of the patients. Variable n Side Right 12 Left 10 Chief complaint Gross hematuria 17 Flank pain 2 Irritative LUTS* 3 Tumor location Renal pelvis 19 Calyx 1 Ureter 2 Urine cytology Positive 12 Negative 10 *LUTS indicates lower urinary tract symptoms 655Vol. 9 | No. 4 | Fall 2012 |U R O LO G Y J O U R N A L Laparoscopic Nephroureterectomy with Open Bladder Cuff Excision | Ziaee et al (17) Laparoscopic stapling of the distal ureter and bladder cuff of- fers the advantage of maintaining the urinary system closed and reducing the operation time of LNU. However, the main concern is related to the likelihood for remaining viable urothelial tissue in the staple line. This viable tissue, which could be a source for local recurrence, may not be evaluated endoscopically.(20) Matin and Gill compared the results of LNU using various techniques for distal ureter management, and reported higher frequency of positive surgical margin and also poorer recurrence-free survival following stapling technique.(21) - thors.(22) Open technique is the standard approach for distal ureter management and the most reliable method from the onco- logical viewpoint. Regarding the need for an incision for specimen retrieval after LNU, the same incision could be added morbidity. It is a simple and easy to learn technique, which guarantees the best adherence to oncological princi- - sion of the distal ureter and bladder cuff. Furthermore, secure repair of the bladder incision in a watertight manner prevents and pelvic space to urothelial cells, an important source for local tumor recurrence.(9,16) Waldert and associates reported the results of LNU using the open technique for distal ureter management, and showed that the procedure is as oncologi- cally effective as ONU.(23) in 2004. Twenty-two patients underwent the procedure with- - stiel incision, which was inevitably needed for intact speci- men removal. It is noteworthy that none of the patients with low-grade tumor had metastasis during the follow-up period, - tasis. The small sample size is a limitation of our study. This technique seems to be an acceptable option for management of the upper urinary tract UC providing the advantages of a minimally-invasive procedure along with the oncological precision of an open technique. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy along with open bladder CONFLICT OF INTEREST None declared. REFERENCES 1. 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