Use of cystoscopic tattooing in laparoscopic partial cystectomy

India Ink Tattooing of Ureteroenteric Anastomoses

While upper tract access through the insensate conduit following urinary diversion takes less time and incurs fewer costs than percutaneous kidney access does for the treatment of ureter and kidney pathology, endoscopic ureteroenteric anastomoses (UEA) identification can be difficult. We injected India Ink into the bowel mucosa near the UEA during ileal conduit diversion (IC) to determine the safety and feasibility of ink tattooing. Patients undergoing IC were prospectively randomized to receive ink or normal saline (NS) injections. The injections were placed 1 cm from UEA in a triangular configuration, and loopogram exams and looposcopy were performed to identify reflux (UR), UEA, the tattooing site and strictures in 10 and 11 patients randomized with respect to ink and NS injections, respectively. Ink patients were older (72 vs. 61 years old, p = 0.04) and had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (5 vs. 2, p = 0.01). Looposcopy was performed in three ink and four NS patients. Visualization of UEA was achieved in 100% of the ink and 75% of the NS patients (p = 0.26). The ink ureteroenteric anastomotic stricture (UEAS) rate was higher (N = 3 vs. N = 1) and six patients vs. one patients underwent surgery, respectively, for UEAS (p = 0.31). The study was halted early due to safety concerns. Our pilot study demonstrates that ink can be well visualized following injection near UEA during IC. However, the ink cohort had more UEAS than previously cited in the literature and our prior institutional UEAS rate of 6%. While this study sample is small, the higher incidence of UEAS after ink injection led us to question the utility and safety of ink injection following IC.

Holmium laser-assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy for bladder cancer: a single-institutional pilot study with technical feasibility and short-term oncological outcome

Background

In selected patients with bladder cancer, partial cystectomy is an alternative treatment for bladder preservation with fair oncologic result. During partial cystectomy, tumor margin demarcation is difficult. Various methods were adopted, however, there is no standard for tumor margin demarcation. We aimed to introduce and provide our experience with holmium laser-assisted method with ten patients.

Methods

From March 2016 and February 2019, patients who want partial cystectomy for bladder cancer were enrolled in this study. Inclusion criteria were stage T2 or T3 disease and tumor location restricted within the dome, and lateral, posterior side of the bladder were included. Transurethral holmium laser-assisted mucosal incision was made and deepened until perivesical fat. Minimal Safety margin for 5-10 mm were spared, and tumor removal was done laparoscopically.

Results

Ten patients underwent holmium laser-assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy. All procedures were done without complication. The tumor locations were laterally in seven patients, dome in two patients, and posterior wall in one patient. Pathologic examination of surgical margin showed no cancer cell involvement in all cases. There were no recurrences or metastases for 12 months follow up.

Conclusions

Holmium laser-assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy is effective and safe technique in carefully selected patients. To achieve precise and appropriate surgical margin during the laparoscopic partial cystectomy, holmium laser resection provides feasible and safe method that assists in bladder incision with minimal ureteral orifice involvement.

Trial registration

Retrospectively registered.

Bladder preservation in urothelial carcinoma: current trends and future directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To provide a contemporary rationale for bladder preservation as a treatment strategy for muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Although the standard of care for this important and serious clinical condition has been radical cystectomy augmented with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, it is associated with substantial morbidity and quality of life (QoL) implications. This article explores the bladder sparing alternatives to radical cystectomy and urinary diversion to assist Urologists, Medical Oncologists, and Palliative Care providers in their informed decision making with patients.

RECENT FINDINGS

Bladder sparing strategies such as partial cystectomy and trimodality therapy offer long-term cancer outcomes comparable to radical cystectomy in carefully selected patients. Moreover, the toxicity profile in patients, having improved over time, is acceptable, including a low risk of salvage cystectomy.

SUMMARY

Bladder preservation therapy offers an alternative to radical cystectomy. In some patients, it can be done with curative intent and in others it can assist with symptom palliation. Bladder preservation can maintain QoL and provide similar oncologic outcomes to radical surgery, although randomized controlled trials have not been performed. Understanding patient selection is a critical step in balancing bladder preservation and cancer survival.

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.

Impact of Surgical Technique on Surgical Margin Status Following Partial Cystectomy

INTRODUCTION

We assessed the impact of open or minimally-invasive partial cystectomy on surgical margin status in a nationwide hospital-based cohort.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients who underwent partial cystectomy from 2010 to 2014 were identified in the National Cancer Data Base. The primary outcome was surgical margin status. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify patient, hospital, and surgical factors associated with positive surgical margins (PSMs).

RESULTS

Partial cystectomy was performed in 1,118 patients via open (n = 715, 64%), laparoscopic (n = 209, 19%), and robotic (n = 194, 17%) approaches. Overall, 220 (19.7%) patients had PSMs. The PSM rate by surgical approach was 19.6% for open, 18.2% for laparoscopic, and 21.6% for robotic (P = 0.678). Compared to open partial cystectomy, the laparoscopic (aOR 1.06, 95%CI 0.70-1.60, P = 0.782), and robotic (aOR 1.28, 95%CI 0.85-1.91, P = 0.235) approaches were not significantly different in terms of PSM rate. There were higher odds of PSMs in non-Hispanic blacks (aOR 1.93, 95%CI 1.09-3.39, P = 0.023) compared to non-Hispanic whites, and in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (aOR 3.28, 95%CI 2.00-5.37, P < 0.001) or tumor size ≥ 3 cm (aOR 1.67, 95%CI 1.21-2.30, P = 0.002). Tumors in a dome/urachal location had lower odds of a PSM compared to tumors in a nondome/urachal location (aOR 0.67, 95%CI 0.47-0.94, P = 0.022).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that partial cystectomy using a laparoscopic or robotic-assisted approach is not associated with an increased risk of PSMs compared to open partial cystectomy.

Green-laser assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy for selective muscle-invasive bladder cancer: technique and initial outcome

PURPOSE

To describe a green-laser marking technique to assist partial cystectomy, which allows accurate identification of tumour margins, and provide our initial experience with ten patients.

METHODS

Between January 2014 and February 2018, ten patients suspected with muscle-invasive bladder cancer and request of bladder-preserving treatment were selected. In each case, bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed before green-laser assisted laparoscopic partial cystectomy. Under the direct view of cystoscope, the front-firing green-laser incision was performed 0.5-1 cm away from the exterior margin of lesion with adequate depth into the fat tissue. Tumours were then en bloc removed via laparoscope under the tracing of laser beam.

RESULTS

The location of 12 tumours in 10 patients was superior wall in 7 cases, lateral wall in 3 cases, anterior wall in 1 case, and posterior wall in 1 case. All procedures were completed without serious complications. The median operating time was 270 (210-360) min with a median haemoglobin decrease of 11 (3-38) g/L. Nine patients were high-grade transitional cell carcinoma and one patient was urachal carcinoma, and the clinical stage was pT1 in 1 case, pT2 in 4 cases, and pT3 in 5 cases. The pathological evaluation of tumour margins was negative in 10 patients. During the follow-up, no recurrence or metastasis were detected in 8 patients, but 2 patients presented regional recurrence.

CONCLUSION

The use of green-laser marking technique during laparoscopic partial cystectomy is a feasible manoeuvre in assisting the accurate incision and minimizing injury to the remaining bladder.

Preoperative detection and localization of small bowel hemangioma: Two case reports

Among the various diagnostic modalities for small bowel hemangioma, video capsule endoscopy (VCE) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) can be recommended as part of the work-up in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB). DBE is superior to VCE in the accuracy of diagnosis and therapeutic potential, while in most cases total enteroscopy cannot be achieved through only the antegrade or retrograde DBE procedures. As treatment for small bowel bleeding, especially spout bleeding, localization of the lesion for the decision of DBE insertion facilitates early treatment, such as endoscopic hemostatic clipping, allowing patients to avoid useless transfusion and the worsening of their disease into life-threatening status. Applying endoscopic India ink marking prior to laparoscopic surgical resection is a particularly useful technique for more minimally invasive treatment. We report two cases of small bowel hemangioma found in examinations for OGIB that were treated with combination of laparoscopic and endoscopic modalities.

Organ-sparing surgery in urology: partial cystectomy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

While radical cystectomy continues to be the gold standard for surgical management of muscle invasive bladder cancer, there has been a renewed interest in partial cystectomy as a viable treatment alternative. The purpose of this review is to summarize and discuss the recent literature regarding partial cystectomy for bladder cancer.

RECENT FINDINGS

Utilization of partial cystectomy has remained stable, at a rate of 7-10% of all cystectomies performed nationally. Additionally, recent population-based series as well as single institution cohorts have found that partial cystectomy did not compromise survival when compared to radical cystectomy. While patients may recur, those with organ-confined disease had no difference in survival following salvage cystectomy when compared to primary radical cystectomy. Current data indicate 14% of patients experience an in-hospital complication, which is a marked decrease compared to radical cystectomy. Finally, innovations in surgical technique, such as robotics, as well as the inclusion of partial cystectomy into trimodal therapy, offer exciting new frontiers in bladder cancer treatment.

SUMMARY

Once maligned, partial cystectomy now represents a standard-of-care option for management of bladder cancer. Although additional research is needed to clarify patient selection and outcomes, partial cystectomy is an important treatment option for appropriately selected patients.

The Youngest Korean Case of Urachal Carcinoma

Urachal anomalies are relatively uncommon and result from incomplete obliteration of the urachus perinatally. In children, most urachal diseases including urachal cysts and sinuses are benign, and these can sometimes become secondarily infected. Malignant involvement of the urachus is rarely reported, one in 5 million people, accounting for 0.35% to 0.7% of all bladder cancers. There are only five cases of urachal cancer diagnosed at the age of twenties in English written literature. Age at the diagnosis of urachal carcinoma is important to understand pathogenetic transition from benign to malignancy. A 26-year-old man visited our clinic with gross hematuria starting a few months before. CT scan showed a 4.0 × 6.8 cm sized lobulated cystic mass over the bladder dome. Cystoscopy showed a ball-shaped extrinsic mass from the bladder dome with intact bladder mucosa. With an impression of urachal cancer, laparoscopic partial cystectomy with wide excision of urachus was performed. Final diagnosis was well differentiated mucinous urachal adenocarcinoma invading bladder muscle, staged as pT3a based on Sheldon's staging system. To our best knowledge, this case is the youngest Korean case of urachal carcinoma (the fourth youngest ever in English written literature).