[The Safety of Laparoscopic Radical Cystectomy during Initial Phases in a Japanese Multicenter Cohort].

We evaluated the safety of laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) during initial phases and its learning curve in a Japanese multicenter cohort by studying 436 patients who underwent LRC with no robot assistance at 10 institutions in Japan. We divided the patients into three groups according to cumulative surgical volume at each institution (first 10 cases, 11-30 cases, after 31 cases in each institution), and compared perioperative and pathologic variables among the three groups. The first, second, and third groups included 100, 166, 170 patients, respectively. The preoperative variables were similar in the three groups except for the rate of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The methods of LRC procedure, such as urinary diversion, the extent of lymph node dissection, and concomitant urethrectomy or nephroureterectomy, were similar in the three groups. Mean operative time was 629, 562 and 531 minutes, respectively, and mean blood loss was 755, 650 and 435 ml, respectively. Both values decreased over time with the institution's experience. There was no significant difference among the three groups in the rate of positive surgical margin, the number of retrieved lymph nodes, and the rate of intra- and postoperative complications. LRC was safely performed during initial phases with an acceptable complication rate and without compromising oncological results, although operative time was longer and blood loss increased.

[Off-Clamp, Non-Renorrhaphy Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy : An Initial Experience in a Single Institution].

We report the surgical procedures and perioperative outcomes of off-clamp, non-renorrhaphy robotassisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) in 7 out of 76 patients who underwent RAPN with off-clamp and nonrenorrhaphy between February 2015 and August 2017. The approach was chosen depending on the location of the tumor. Tumor enucleation was performed by using sharp incision and blunt dissection. For hemostasis, the soft-coagulation system was used and TachoSil○R was placed on the resection bed. As a rule, renorrhaphy was not performed. Median (range) patient age was 67 years (40-79), tumor size ; 14 mm (12-18), operative time ; 139 minutes (102-166), console time ; 51 minutes (41-75), estimate blood loss ; 10 ml (0-100). No patients required a perioperative blood transfusion. Median (range) tumor intraparenchymal depth was 10.4 mm (4.3-15.5) and distance from urinary collecting system was 9.3 mm (4.1-13.0). Pseudoaneurysm and urine leakage were not observed. No complications classified as Clavien-Dindo grade higher than grade 1 appeared. No cases had a positive surgical margin. Median (range) estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) change rate at 3 months after surgery was 0% (-12.7-14.5). Off-clamp, non-renorrhaphy RAPN with the soft-coagulation system and TachoSil® is a feasible and safe procedure for patients carefully selected among those with superficial tumors.

[Clinical Study of HoLEP for the Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia who are on Oral Antithrombotics].

Recently, holmium laserenucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) was associated with less bleeding compared with transurethral resection of prostate. Since 2012, we have performed HoLEP for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) under continuous oral antithrombotics (OA). Between October 2004 and March 2015, 54 patients with BPH underwent HoLEP while on OA at our hospital. Eight patients underwent HoLEP without OA cessation and 46 patients with temporary OA cessation. No significant between-group difference was observed in age, prostate volume, transitional zone prostate volume, operation time, resection weight, resection weight per minute, urethral catheter duration, Hb decrease on day 1 post- HoLEP, hospital stay after HoLEP, bleeding intraoperative rate, bleeding rate after HoLEP and transfusion rate. None presented embolic complications. HoLEP was safe without OA cessation. However, highvolume BPH patients without OA cessation required intraoperative transfusion. Thus, high-volume BPH patients may benefit from OA cessation.

[Gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) or gemcitabine and carboplatin (GCarbo) in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer].

Twenty-four patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma of bladder (11) and upper urinary tract (13) received gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15, and cisplatin 70 mg/m2 (GC) or carboplatin area under the serum concentration-time curve (AUC) 5 (GCarbo) on day 2, every 28 days. One to 13 chemotherapy cycles (median number, 4) per patient were administered. Three patients (12.5%) achieved a complete response (CR) and 9 (37.5%) a partial response (PR). Six patients (25%) experienced no change (NC) and six patients (25%) progressive disease (PD). The overall response rate (CR＋PR) of GC (57.9%) was greater than that of GCarbo (20%), but the difference was not statistically significant (p＝0.13). At a median follow-up of 14.7 months, the median time to progression was 4.6 months (range, 0.9-34.7), and the median overall survival 12.3 months (range, 2.1-46.4). Grade 3 and 4 leukocytopenia occurred in 15 patients (53.6%) and grade 3 and 4 thrombocytopenia in 16 (57.1%). Gemcitabine could be administrated on both day 8 and day 15 only in 43 (34.7%) of the total 114 courses because of hematological toxicity. Gemcitabine chemotherapy combined with cisplatin or carboplatin is effective in the management of metastatic urothelial cancer. High hematological toxicity was observed and caused high omission rates of gemcitabine on day 8 and/or day 15.

Surgical outcomes and learning curve of totally intracorporeal ileal conduit urinary diversion following laparoscopic radical cystectomy at a single institution.

INTRODUCTION: Constant evaluation of the outcomes of laparoscopic intracorporeal urinary diversion is not yet established. This study aimed to describe surgical outcomes and learning curve of intracorporeal ileal conduit (ICIC) following laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) at a single institution. METHODS: From June 2012 to February 2018, 38 patients with bladder cancer underwent LRC with ileal conduit at our institution. Surgical outcomes were compared between ICIC (n = 30) and extracorporeal ileal conduit (ECIC) (n = 8). The learning curve during ICIC with regard to the operative time and complication rate was compared. RESULTS: No significant differences in patient characteristics between the ICIC and ECIC groups were found. Comparison of outcomes between the ICIC and ECIC groups were as follows: median total operative time, 688 vs 713 minutes; urinary diversion time, 213 vs 192 minutes; and estimated blood loss, 450 vs 420 mL, respectively. The median time to walking and oral intake were similar in both groups. Rates of high-grade complications associated with urinary diversion (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ III) were 3% in ICIC and 25% in ECIC. Although 25% of ECIC patients developed wound dehiscence (Clavien-Dindo grade IIIb), no patient in the ICIC group had postoperative wound infection. For the learning curve of ICIC (n = 30), urinary diversion time decreased significantly (27 minutes decrease per 10 cases, P = .02). Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ II complication did not occur after 20 cases. CONCLUSIONS: LRC with ICIC could be performed safely with low incidence of severe wound infection compared with ECIC. The incidence and severity of complications also decreased with time.

Retroperitoneoscopic partial nephrectomy using microwave coagulation for small renal tumors.

OBJECTIVES: The outcome of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy using a microwave tissue coagulator for treatment of small renal tumors was studied. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From June 1999 to May 2001, eight patients with small renal tumors of less than 5.0cm in diameter (1.0-5.0cm, T1N0M0) underwent retroperitoneoscopic partial nephrectomy. To control bleeding during the partial nephrectomy, the renal parenchyma around the tumor was coagulated using a microwave tissue coagulator with a needle of 1.5cm length. The tumor was circumscribed within the coagulated area with 8-13 punctures of the coagulation needle, and partial nephrectomy was performed using scissors and bipolar forceps. RESULTS: All eight patients successfully underwent the procedure retroperitoneoscopically. The average operative time was 295 minutes and the average blood loss was 129ml. Three patients showed urine leakage from the renal calyces, which was controlled by suturing retroperitoneoscopically. In two patients, the surgical margin was revealed to be positive for renal cell carcinoma by frozen section pathology and additional resection was performed in these individuals. The patients were discharged from the hospital with almost full convalescence on day 10 on average. Within the mean follow-up period of 10.4 months, no recurrence was found when examined with computer tomography (CT) using contrast media. As a complication, one patient experienced a decrease in function of the operated kidney caused by unknown reason. CONCLUSION: Retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy using a microwave tissue coagulator is useful for treatment of small renal tumors located at the peripheral area of the kidney. Bleeding from the renal parenchymal incision site is well controlled without occlusion of the renal artery with additional use of a bipolar coagulator, when necessary. Further experience and long-term follow-up are mandatory however, to establish the usefulness of this technique.