Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Open radical nephroureterectomy has been the standard treatment for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (LN) offers the advantages of a minimally invasive approach. We report our experience with both hand-assisted LN (HALN) and total LN. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of all patients who underwent HALN and LN for the treatment of localized upper urinary tract TCC between 2001 and 2005. Histology of the operative specimen confirmed urothelial carcinoma in all cases. Their demographic data, perioperative parameters and follow-up data were assessed. RESULTS: There were 31 patients with a median age of 71 years (range 39-82 years). The mean operating time was 236 min (range 120-350 min) and mean blood loss was 365 ml (range 200-2000 ml). There were no conversions to open surgery. The mean length of hospitalization was 7 days (range 3-30 days). Clear oncological margins were achieved in 27 cases. The mean duration of follow-up was 28 months (range 2-55 months). CONCLUSIONS: HALN and LN are safe and effective alternatives to open surgery for the treatment of upper urinary tract TCC. Medium-term follow-up showed favourable oncological results. A larger sample size and a longer follow-up period are required before HALN and LN can be considered standard treatments for upper urinary tract TCC.     

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma: a critical appraisal

Two of the mini‐reviews in this issue evaluate the laparoscopic approach to urology; one critically appraising laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper tract TCC, and the other looking back on the first 10 years of laparoscopic pyeloplasty. They are also a testament to the relationship which has developed between the effects of British urologists in becoming experts in this area, and the outstanding help and supervision given by Inderbir Gill and his team at the Cleveland Clinic. The financial backing for this venture came from the British Urological Foundation, which enthusiastically supports the concept of this preceptorship at the Cleveland Clinic.     

Laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma: the Cleveland Clinic experience

PURPOSE: We report our single institutional experience with retroperitoneal laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy in patients with upper tract transitional cell carcinoma and compare results to those achieved by the open technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 77 patients underwent radical nephroureterectomy for pathologically confirmed upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. Of these patients 42 underwent laparoscopic nephroureterectomy from September 1997 through January 2000 and 35 underwent open surgery. All specimens were extracted intact. Of the laparoscopic group the juxtavesical ureter and bladder cuff were excised by our novel transvesical needlescopic technique in 27 and radical nephrectomy was performed retroperitoneoscopically in all 42. Data were compared retrospectively with 35 patients undergoing open radical nephroureterectomy from February 1991 through December 1999. RESULTS: Laparoscopy was superior in regard to surgical time (3.7 versus 4.7 hours, p = 0.003), blood loss (242 versus 696 cc, p <0. 0001), specimen weight (559 versus 388 gm., p = 0.04), resumption of oral intake (1.6 versus 3.2 days, p = 0.0004), narcotic analgesia requirements (26 versus 228 mg., p <0.0001), hospital stay (2.3 versus 6.6 days, p <0.0001), normal activities (4.7 versus 8.2 weeks, p = 0.002) and convalescence (8 versus 14.1 weeks, p = 0.007). Complications occurred in 5 patients (12%) in the laparoscopic group, including open conversions in 2, and in 10 (29%) in the open group (p = 0.07). Followup was shorter in the laparoscopic group (11.1 versus 34.4 months, p <0.0001). The 2 groups were similar in regard to bladder recurrence (23% versus 37%, p = 0.42), local retroperitoneal or port site recurrence (0% versus 0%) and metastatic disease (8.6% versus 13%, p = 1.00). Mortality occurred in 2 patients (6%) in the laparoscopic group and 9 (30%) in the open group. Cancer specific survival (97% versus 87%) and crude survival (97% versus 94%) were similar between both groups (p = 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with upper tract transitional cell carcinoma who are candidates for radical nephroureterectomy the retroperitoneal laparoscopic approach satisfactorily duplicates established technical principles of traditional open oncological surgery, while significantly decreasing morbidity from this major procedure. Short-term oncological and survival data of the laparoscopic technique are comparable to open surgery. Although long-term followup data are not yet available, it appears that laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy may supplant open surgery as the standard of care in patients with muscle invasive or high grade upper tract transitional cell carcinoma.     

腹腔镜肾输尿管全长切除术及膀胱袖状切除术治疗上尿路移行细胞癌

目的:评价腹腔镜经腹腔径路行肾输尿管全长切除术及膀胱袖状切除术治疗上尿路移行细胞癌的有效性及安全性。方法:对6例上尿路移行细胞癌患者行腹腔镜经腹腔径路肾切除术,经同侧下腹斜切口、袖状切除输尿管并完整取出标本。结果:6例手术均获成功,无中转开放手术,手术时间200～320min,平均250min,术中出血100～300ml,均未输血,住院8～12d,平均9d,术后常规膀胱灌注丝裂霉素,随访2～14个月,均无复发或转移。结论:腹腔镜肾输尿管全长切除术是治疗上尿路移行细胞癌安全有效的微创手术,具有痛苦小、康复快等优点。     

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma: comparison of laparoscopic and open surgery

OBJECTIVES: We made a comparative study of laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (LNU) and standard open surgery (ONU) for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma. METHODS AND METHODS: From July 2000 to February 2005, 49 patients underwent total nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma at Osaka University Medical Hospital. Of the 49 patients, twenty-five were treated with LNU, and twenty-four with ONU. Each group of cases was reviewed with respect to operative time, complications and postoperative convalescence. RESULTS: The average operative time of the LNU and ONU group was 305.9 min (range 190-480) and 271.2 min (range 135-480) respectively, and the average blood loss was 321.5 ml (80-1370) and 557.7 ml (range 100-1730), respectively. The average time until ambulation after LNU and ONU was 2.2 days (range 1-3) and 4.0 days (range 3-5), respectively. No major postoperative complications were observed in either group. CONCLUSION: ONU still represents the gold standard for the management of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma; however, for low stage cases, LNU offers the advantages of minimally invasive surgery.     

Laparoscopic nephrectomy and nephroureterectomy for renal and upper tract transitional cell cancer

The best management for renal tumors is surgical excision. The laparoscopic technique of radical or total nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma and radical nephroureterectomy for transitional cell carcinoma is rapidly gaining momentum as an effective method of extirpative surgery. The transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approach to either of these procedures is proving to be equally effective to open surgery with respect to tumor removal, providing similar disease-free rates. Laparoscopic surgery leads to a significantly lower intraoperative blood loss, postoperative analgesic requirement, and quicker convalescence. Presently the only drawbacks to laparoscopic surgery are longer operative times and higher costs. Fortunately, these factors are slowly approaching those of open surgery because of increased experience, improved instrumentation, and modification of the surgical technique.     

Hand-assisted laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: We report our experience with hand-assisted laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (HALN) for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma and compare our results with a contemporary series of open nephroureterectomy (ON) performed at our institution. METHODS: Between August 1996 and May 2003, 90 patients underwent nephroureterectomy for upper-tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Thirty-eight patients underwent HALN, while 52 had an ON. End-points of comparison included operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), intraoperative and postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, pathologic grade and stage of tumor, and tumor recurrence. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 72.3 and 70.6 years in the ON and HALN groups, respectively. Mean operative duration was 243 minutes (ON) and 244 minutes (HALN), with an EBL of 478mL in the open group versus 191 mL in the hand-assisted group (P<0.001). No intraoperative complications occurred, but postoperative complications occurred in 4% and 11% of the ON and HALN groups, respectively (P=0.21). The mean hospital duration was 7.1 days (ON) versus 4.6 days (HALN) (P<0.01). No difference existed in the pathologic grade or stage distribution of urothelial tumors between the 2 groups. The mean follow-up was 51.0 months in the ON group and 31.7 months in the HALN group. Recurrence of urothelial carcinoma occurred in 50% of patients who underwent ON and 40% treated by HALN (P=0.38) at a median interval of 9.1 and 7.7 months, respectively, after surgery. CONCLUSION: Hand-assisted laparoscopic nephroureterectomy is an effective modality for the treatment of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Patients benefited from less intraoperative blood loss and a shorter hospitalization with an equivalent intermediate-term oncologic outcome compared with that of the open approach.     

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell cancer: the Washington University experience

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy has only recently been done to treat patients with upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. We retrospectively evaluated our experience with and long-term followup of laparoscopic nephroureterectomy, compared our results to those of contemporary series of open nephroureterectomy and reviewed the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the charts of and followed up by telephone 25 patients who underwent laparoscopic nephroureterectomy between May 1991 and June 1998, and 17 who underwent open nephroureterectomy between March 1990 and January 1997. Demographic, perioperative and followup data were compared. We performed a MEDLINE search and reviewed the literature on laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. RESULTS: Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy required twice the operating time of open nephroureterectomy (7.7 versus 3.9 hours). However, patients who underwent the laparoscopic procedure had a 74% decrease in analgesia requirements (37 versus 144 mg. morphine sulfate equivalent), a 63% shorter hospital stay (3.6 versus 9.6 days) and a 72% more rapid convalescence (2.8 versus 10 weeks). Subsequent bladder transitional cell carcinoma and overall cancer specific survival were similar at a mean followup of 2 years. There was no sign of trocar site or peritoneal seeding after laparoscopic nephroureterectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Although laparoscopic nephroureterectomy is a longer operation, it has the same efficacy and is better tolerated by patients than open nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma. As operating time decreases due to surgeon experience and the recent development of hand assisted laparoscopy, laparoscopic nephroureterectomy may soon become the procedure of choice for the ablative management of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma.     

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma: results of a Belgian retrospective multicentre survey

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the technical and oncologic feasibility of laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma. METHODS: A retrospective survey of 100 patients, treated with laparoscopic nephroureterectomy in 10 Belgian centres, was performed. Most procedures were performed transperitoneally. The distal ureter was managed by open surgery in 55 patients and laparoscopically in 45 patients. The mean follow-up was 20 mo. RESULTS: Mean operation time was 192 min and mean blood loss 234 ml. The conversion rate was 7%. Important postoperative complications were seen in 9%. Pathologic staging was pTa in 31 patients, pT1 in 23, pT2 in 12, pT3 in 33, and pT4 in 1, concomittant pTis in 3. Pathologic grade was G1 in 24 patients, G2 in 28, and G3 in 48. Negative surgical margins were obtained in all but one patient. Twenty-five patients developed progressive disease (24%) at a mean postoperative time of 9 mo (local recurrence in 8%, metastases in 11%, both in 5%). Progression was 0% for pTa, 17% for pT1, 17% for pT2, 51% for pT3, and 100% for pT4. Cancer-specific survival was 100% for pTa, 86% for pT1, 100% for pT2, 77% for pT3, and 0% for pT4. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy appears to be a technically and oncologically feasible operation. To prevent tumour seeding, one should avoid opening the urinary tract and should extract the specimen with an intact organ bag. The high local recurrence rate in this study probably reflects the high percentage of high-grade and high-stage tumours in this study.     

Oncological outcome of retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To report the oncological outcome of retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy (RNU) with bladder cuff excision for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), and to compare the outcome with that of the traditional open nephroureterectomy (ONU). PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2001, 48 patients with upper urinary tract TCC were enrolled in the study; 25 had RNU and 23 had ONU. Oncological parameters (disease-free survival and disease-specific survival) were calculated from the time of surgery to the date of last follow up and were analysed by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Mean follow up was 24.3 months in the RNU group, significantly shorter than in the ONU group. Bladder recurrence was identified in two patients with grade 3 pathological stage pT3, one patient with grade 3 stage pT2 disease and two patients with grade 2 stage pT2 disease. Multiple organ metastases in the lung, liver and lymph nodes were associated with bladder recurrence in two cases (grade 2 stage pT3, and grade 3 stage pT3). The recurrence rate was 20% (5 of 25 cases) and mean time to recurrence was 9.5 months. In the ONU group, bladder recurrence and metastases developed in four and three patients, respectively. The recurrence rate was 17% (4 of 23 cases) and mean time to recurrence was 23.4 months. No significant difference was detected in the disease-free survival rate and cancer-specific survival rate between the two groups (P=0.759 and P=0.866, respectively). CONCLUSION: The oncological outcome of RNU appears to be equivalent to that of ONU. Moreover, long-term follow up is necessary to evaluate the oncological outcome in comparison to ONU.     

全腹腔镜根治性肾输尿管全长切除术治疗肾移植术后上尿路肿瘤

目的：评价全腹腔镜根治性肾输尿管全长切除术治疗肾移植术后上尿路移行细胞癌的有效性和安全性。方法：回顾性分析2008年1月～2011年9月收治13例肾移植术后并发上尿路肿瘤患者资料,男3例,女10例,年龄32～64岁,肾移植术后18～65个月,行全腹腔镜根治性肾输尿管全长切除16次（3例为先后双侧发生）。4例次肿瘤与移植肾位于同侧（其中2例有剖宫产和子宫切除等下腹部手术史）。先行经尿道用针形电极环绕输尿管管口行袖套状切除,再改变体位行腹膜外途径全腹腔镜根治性肾输尿管全长切除术。下段输尿管在腔镜直视下分离至髂总血管分叉以下,并记录其有关指标。结果：16例次手术均成功,手术时间120～230min,平均178min;术中出血量20～260ml,平均80ml;术后住院时间11～16d,平均12．5d。13例随访3～48个月,无腹膜后肿瘤复发,1例膀胱内新发肿瘤。无远处转移及穿刺通道的种植性转移。结论：腹膜后途径全腹腔镜根治性肾输尿管全长切除术治疗。肾移植后上尿路移行细胞癌是安全、有效的微创手术方法,但其对肿瘤细胞生物学行为的影响尚需作进一步的评价。     

Long-term oncologic outcome after laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term oncologic efficacy of laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). METHODS: Between August 1993 and May 2001, 39 patients underwent laparoscopic RNU for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) at our institution. The medical records of these patients were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Clinical outcomes were available in all 39 patients with an actual follow-up ranging from 60 to 148 mo (median: 74). During this time 27 patients (69%) developed at least one TCC recurrence. Eighteen patients had urothelial recurrences, and 9 patients had nonurothelial recurrences. Of these latter patients, 2 patients (5%) had local recurrences. No patient developed a port site metastasis. Eleven patients ultimately had disease progression and died from TCC 7-59 mo (median: 31) after the operation. On statistical analysis, tumor stage was the only factor significantly associated with death from the disease, and tumor location (ureter) was the only factor significantly associated with disease recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term overall and disease-specific survival rates after laparoscopic RNU for upper tract TCC are well within the range of results reported after open surgery. Thus, the results of the present study support the continued development of laparoscopic techniques in the management of this aggressive disease.     

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy. A new standard for the surgical management of upper tract transitional cell cancer

Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for upper tract TCC still remains somewhat controversial. Unlike laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, which has become widely accepted, LNU is still in its earliest stages. Although there are obvious benefits for the patient who has LNU--less pulmonary complications, less postoperative discomfort, a shorter hospital stay, a better cosmetic result, and a brief convalescence--there are significant concerns. The longer operative time creates a negative financial and professional inducement to learn this technique. Operative times need to fall into the 4-hour range or less to make the procedure cost-effective. Analysis of the efficacy of laparoscopic nephroureterectomy as a curative treatment modality is important. In the short-run, LNU seems to provide similar results to open nephroureterectomy for upper TCC. Although concerns over port site seeding, bladder recurrence, and intraperitoneal seeding have been voiced, these problems have not occurred. The higher incidence of local recurrence noted in the authors' series, however, is of concern and remains an unsettled issue. Despite these local recurrences, the overall cancer survival for a given grade and stage of upper tract TCC seem to be similar to survivals recorded after open nephroureterectomy. Still, the number of LNU cases remains small, and follow-up is brief. These patients need to be monitored closely, with follow-up CT scans over the next decade. The authors believe that there are still several significant hurdles standing in the path of LNU before it can become a widely accepted procedure. Issues of cost, training, and long-term efficacy must be answered definitively. To obtain these types of data, it will be necessary to create a multi-institutional, cooperative study to obtain sufficient numbers of patients with a more than 5-year follow-up on which to base future recommendations.     

后腹腔镜联合膀胱电切镜对上尿路移行细胞癌根治性治疗的安全性研究

目的探讨后腹腔镜联合膀胱电切镜对肾盂、中上段输尿管移行细胞癌根治性治疗的手术及肿瘤学安全性。方法回顾性分析肾盂、中上段输尿管移行细胞癌患者58例临床资料,后腹腔镜联合膀胱电切镜肾输尿管全长切除组（A组）41例,开放肾输尿管切除组（B组）17例。对其手术效果、并发症及术后肿瘤复发情况进行对比。结果A组和B组手术出血量（98．4和165mL）、术后住院天数（7．1和8．0d）、术后应用止痛药时间（1．2和3．1d）比较,A组优于B组（P〈0．05）;两组手术时间（150和110min）、术后留置尿管时间（6．2和3．5d）比较,A组长于B组（P〈0．05）。A组1例因电切输尿管口出血,中转开放手术。A、B两组并发症发生率（7．3％和11．8％）及肿瘤复发率（14．6％,23．5％）差异均无统计学意义（P均〉O．05）。结论联合尿道电切镜、后腹腔镜肾输尿管切除术与开放手术相比,出血少、术后恢复快、并发症少,未增加术后肿瘤的复发。