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Background: Long-term oncologic and functional outcomes after robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) for bladder cancer (BCa) are lacking., Objective: To report oncologic and functional outcomes in a cohort of patients who have completed a minimum of 5 yr and a maximum of 8 yr of follow-up after RARC and extracorporeal urinary diversion., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this paper, we report on the experience from one of the first European urology centres to introduce RARC. Only patients between 2004 and 2006 were included to ensure follow-up of ≥ 5 yr. We report on an analysis of oncologic outcomes in 14 patients (11 males and 3 females) with muscle-invasive/high-grade non-muscle-invasive or bacillus Calmette-Guérin-refractory carcinoma in situ who opted to have RARC., Intervention: RARC with pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed using the three-arm standard da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, CA, USA). Urinary diversion, either ileal conduit (n=12) or orthotopic neobladder (n=2), was constructed extracorporeally., Outcome Measurements: Parameters were recorded in a prospectively maintained database including assessment of renal function, overall survival, disease-specific survival, development of metastases, and functional outcomes., Statistical Analysis: Results were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis. Survival data were analysed and presented using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve., Results and Limitations: Five of the 14 patients have died. Three patients died of metastatic disease, and two died of unrelated causes. Two other patients are alive with metastases, and another has developed primary lung cancer. Six patients are alive and disease-free. These results show overall survival of 64%, disease-specific survival of 75%, and disease-free survival of 50%. None of the patients had deterioration of renal function necessitating renal replacement therapy. Three of four previously potent patients having nerve-sparing RARC recovered erectile function. The study is limited by the relatively small number of highly selected patients undergoing RARC, which was a novel technique 8 yr ago. The standard da Vinci Surgical System made extended lymphadenectomy difficult., Conclusions: Within limitations, in our experience RARC achieved excellent control of local disease, but the outcomes in patients with metastatic disease seem to be equivalent to the outcomes of open radical cystectomy., (Copyright © 2013 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The role of minimally invasive radical cystectomy as opposed to open surgery for bladder cancer is not yet established. We present comparative outcomes of open, laparoscopic and robotic-assisted radical cystectomy, Material and Methods: Prospective cohort comparison of 158 patients from 2003-2008 undergoing open radical cystectomy (ORC) (n = 52), laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) (n =58) or robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) (n = 48) performed by a team of three surgeons at two hospitals. Peri-operative data, complication rates, length of hospital stay, oncological outcome (including lymph node status) and survival were recorded. Statistical analyses were adjusted to account for potential confounding factors such as ASA grade, gender, age, diversion type and final histology., Results: RARC took longer than LRC and ORC. Patients were about 30 times more likely to have a transfusion if they had ORC than if they had RARC (p < 0.0001) and about eight times more likely to have a transfusion if they had LRC compared with RARC (p < 0.006). Patients were four times more likely to have a transfusion if they had ORC as compared with LRC (p < 0.007). Patients were four times more likely to have complications if they had ORC than RARC (p = 0.006) and about three times more likely to have complications with LRC than with RARC (p = 0.02). Hospital stay was mean 19 days after ORC, 16 days after LRC and 10 days after RARC., Conclusions: Despite study limitations, RARC had the lowest transfusion and complication rates and the shortest length of stay, although taking the longest to perform., (© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Objective: To analyze the early complications of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy (RARC) with extracorporeal ileal conduit or orthotopic (Studer) bladder reconstruction using the Clavien Classification, the management of these complications, and possible preventive measures., Materials and Methods: Detailed data on all patients undergoing RARC were recorded prospectively on an encrypted database, including intraoperative or postoperative complications within 90 days of surgery. Outcome data during follow-up of up to 4 years was also collected prospectively., Results: A total of 50 patients (M:F 44:6) underwent RARC and extracorporeal ileal conduit urinary diversion (n = 45) or orthotopic bladder reconstruction (n = 5) between 2004 and 2008. The overall perioperative complication rate was 17 of 50 (34%), including 3 (6%) Clavien I, 9 (18%) Clavien II, and 5 (10%) Clavien III. Final histology showed 9 (18%) patients had no residual disease pT0, 7 (14%) pTa, 11 (22%) pT1, 9 (18%) pT2, 11 (22%) pT3, and 3 (6%) pT4., Conclusion: Radical cystectomy remains a complex and morbid procedure with significant complication rate regardless of surgical approach. Using the Clavien reporting system, we identified early complications in 34% of patients, of which five required a significant intervention. Use of this standardized reporting system has allowed us to stratify complications after RARC, allowing easy comparison to other techniques and targeting further reductions in the future., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To report short- and medium-term oncological and functional outcomes of the first robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy (RARC) series from the UK., Materials and Methods: Thirty patients underwent RARC between 2004 and 2007 at our unit. We report oncological and functional outcomes of this procedure in 20 patients (17 ileal conduit and three Studer Pouches), who have completed at least 6 months of follow up., Results: There were 17 men and three women, median age 66 years (range 38-77 years). Median operating time was 330 min (range 295-510 min), and median blood loss 150 ml (range 100-1150 ml). There were two major complications (10%); a port site bleed and a rectal injury. The median follow up of this cohort is 23 months (range 7-44 months). One patient died of distant metastases at 8 months, and another developed a right ureteric tumour at 7 months. None of the patients had local pelvic or port site recurrence. The overall and disease-free survival are 95% and 90% respectively. Functional complications included a neovesico-urethral stricture at 3 months, a left upper ureteric stricture at 6 months and an incisional hernia at 12 months., Conclusion: Robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy is an emerging minimally invasive procedure which at short- to medium-term follow up, in our experience, is oncologically and functionally equivalent to open radical cystectomy.

Background: The use of robotic technology for laparoscopic prostatectomy is now well established. The same cannot yet be said of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy (RARC), which is performed in just a few centres worldwide., Objective: We present our technique and experience of this procedure using the da Vinci surgical system., Design, Setting, and Participants: From 2004 to 2007, 23 patients underwent RARC and urinary diversion at our institution., Surgical Procedure: We report the development of our technique for RARC, which involves posterior dissection, lateral pedicle control, anterior dissection, and lymphadenectomy prior to either ileal conduit urinary diversion or Studer pouch reconstruction performed extracorporeally., Measurements: Demographic and perioperative data were recorded prospectively. Oncologic and functional outcomes were assessed at 3- to 6-mo intervals., Results and Limitations: To date, 23 patients have undergone this procedure at our institution. Of those, 19 had ileal loop urinary diversion and 4 were suitable for Studer pouch reconstruction. Mean total operative time plus or minus (+/-) standard deviation (SD) was 397+/-83.8min. Mean blood loss +/-SD was 278+/-229ml with one patient requiring a blood transfusion. Surgical margins were clear in all patients with a median +/-SD of 16+/-8.9 lymph nodes retrieved. The complication rate was 26%. At a mean follow-up +/-SD of 17+/-13 (range 4-40) mo, one patient had died of metastatic disease and one other is alive with metastases. The remaining 21 patients are alive without recurrence., Conclusions: RARC remains a procedure in evolution in the small number of centres carrying out this type of surgery. Our initial experience confirms that it is feasible with acceptable morbidity and good short-term oncologic results.