Perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy

Bladder diverticulectomy using a pre-peritoneal, trans-vesicle approach with the SP platform: A novel approach

A 64-year-old male with a history of urothelial carcinoma was found to have recurrence of his disease inside of a narrow neck bladder diverticulum on surveillance cystoscopy. The da Vinci Single Port robotic system was used to perform an extraperitoneal, trans-vesicle partial cystectomy with en-bloc resection. To our knowledge, this is the initial case report of a trans-vesicle resection using the da Vinci Single Port robotic system, and provides an alternative to traditional minimally invasive approaches.

Partial cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a review of the literature

The radical cystectomy (RC) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is one of the most morbid and complex urologic procedures performed today. To avoid these complications, the partial cystectomy (PC) has been offered as an alternative in carefully selected patients as a means of achieving equal oncologic efficacy with less morbidity. Selection criteria should include solitary tumors without concomitant carcinoma in situ (CIS) and amenable to resection with 1–2 cm margins in a normally functioning bladder. In addition to the standard work-up, random bladder and prostatic biopsies may be performed. The PC can be performed through an open, laparoscopic, or robot-assisted approach, each with acceptable outcomes. A number of techniques have been developed to identify and resect the tumor completely with negative margins, while preventing tumor spillage within the abdomen. While there are no randomized trials, single institution series have demonstrated acceptable oncologic outcomes in appropriately selected patients. Therefore, offering PC in the appropriate candidate, including those patients who do not accept or are unfit for the associated morbidity of a RC, represents an acceptable alternative.

Comparison of two patients presenting with the clear cell variant of urothelial cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder: laser-assisted partial cystectomy for local disease versus chemotherapy for locally advanced disease

A 43-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man were referred separately from primary care to the urology service with short histories of frank haematuria. In both cases, histology from transurethral resection of their bladder tumours demonstrated the rare clear cell variant of urothelial/transitional cell carcinoma. Staging scans found the former patient had low-volume local disease, and the latter had locally advanced disease. The former patient went on to have partial cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection (with the endoscopic portion of the partial cystectomy undertaken by holmium:YAG laser), while the latter was found to have inoperable disease, and proceeded to chemotherapy. The former patient was alive with no evidence of disease recurrence at 45 months, while the latter was alive but with extensive lymph nodal recurrence at 45 months.