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Purpose: The bladder cuff (BC) management and its surgical approach represent an essential and debated step in radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma. The objective of our study was to determine which BC management has the best oncologic outcomes in terms of bladder recurrence-free survival (BRFS). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all patients who underwent an open robot-assisted laparoscopic (RNU) or a combined RNU between March 2012 and March 2019 in three academic hospitals. BC management approaches were divided into two categories: (O-cuff) open BC and (R-cuff) robot-assisted BC. We assessed demographic characteristics, distal ureter approach, pathology, and operative details, as well as oncologic outcomes including BRFS. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. A multivariable analysis was performed to identify predictive factors of bladder recurrence (BR). Results: A total of 117 patients were included with a mean follow-up of 40.4 months. Patients with a history of bladder cancer, RNU with pure laparoscopic approach, and endoscopic BC were excluded. There were 53 (45%) patients in the O-cuff group and 64 (55%) in the R-cuff group. BRFS at 2 years was 73.3% and 72.7% for O-cuff and R-cuff, respectively (p = 0.9). On multivariable analysis, distal ureter tumor (odds ratio: 6.24, 95% confidence interval: 1.95–21.5; p < 0.01) was associated with BR. Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in BRFS between the O-cuff and R-cuff groups. Nevertheless, we underlined that distal ureter tumor was associated with BR. Although we did not find differences regarding the surgical approach, BC remains a very important step of RNU and caution should be taken when performed laparoscopically to avoid any tumor spillage. Risk factors for bladder cancer recurrence might be taken into account for the choice of its surgical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: The Clavien-Dindo Classification (CDC) only reports the postoperative complication of highest grade. It is thus of limited value for radical cystectomy, after which patients usually experience multiple complications. The Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI) is a novel scoring system, which incorporates all postoperative events in one single value. The study aimed to adopt the CCI for the evaluation of complications in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) and explore its advantages in the analysis of the morbidity of RARC with ICUD. Patients and Methods: A multicentric cohort of 959 patients undergoing RARC+ICUD between 2015 and 2020, whose complications are encoded in local prospective registries. Postoperative complications at 30 days were assessed using both the CDC and CCI. The CCI was calculated using an online tool (assessurgery.com). Risk factors for overall, major complications (CDC ≥III), and CCI were evaluated using uni- and multivariable logistic and linear regressions. To analyze the potential advantage of using the CCI in clinical trials, a sample size calculation of a hypothetic clinical trial was performed using as endpoint reduction of morbidity with either the CDC or CCI. Results: Overall, 885 postoperative complications were reported in 507 patients (53%). The CCI improved the definition of postoperative morbidity in 22.6% of patients. Male sex and neobladder were associated with major complications and to a significant increase in CCI on adjusted regressions. In a hypothetical clinical trial, 80 patients would be needed to demonstrate a ten-point reduction in CCI, compared with 186 needed to demonstrate an absolute risk reduction of 20% in overall morbidity using the CDC. Conclusion: CCI improves the evaluation of postoperative morbidity by considering the cumulative aspect of complications compared with the CDC. Implementing the CCI for radical cystectomy would help reducing sample sizes in clinical trials. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT03049410.