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One of biggest problems when assessing radical surgery of prostatic cancer is progression of the locally advanced disease when lymph nodes are positive. The following questions should be asked: 1) if there are patterns of lymph node involvement 2) if retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy is indispensable in pre-operative clinical removal 3) if the prognosis, in relation to lymph node invasion, worsens with the increase in number of positive lymph nodes or if the lesion becomes bilateral. The authors’ experience is reported.

Pelvic laparoscopic lymphadenectomy should be the most reliable method for lymphatic staging of bladder cancer. Endoscopic nodal exploration procedures have already proved to be valid alternatives to conventional lymphadenectomy as a minimally invasive technique with lower morbidity. The Authors present a new protocol for bladder-sparing treatment of locally invasive transitional cell carcinoma and discuss the feasibility of laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy as a staging procedure.