Bilateral retroperitoneoscopic lumbar sympathectomy by unilateral access for plantar hyperhidrosis in women.

OBJECTIVES: Primary focal hyperhidrosis is a disorder of excessive, bilateral, and relatively symmetric sweating occurring in the axillae, palms, soles, or craniofacial region. Armpits are affected in 51% of patients, feet in 29%, palms in 25%, and the face in 20%. There is a wide range of nonsurgical and surgical treatments available for patients with focal hyperhidrosis. Surgical treatments for plantar hyperhidrosis include thoracic and/or lumbar sympathectomy. In this article, we report on a new technique of bilateral retroperitoneoscopic lumbar sympathectomy by unilateral access for plantar hyperidrosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of female patients who presented with plantar hyperhidrosis at the time of surgery and received bilateral retroperitoneoscopic lumbar sympathectomy by a unilateral access technique at our hospital. All patients had already been submitted to a previous thoracic sympathectomy with no improvement of the plantar hyperhidrosis. RESULTS: Five procedures were performed successfully from January through March 2009. Mean operative time and mean estimated blood loss were 59 minutes and 54 cc, respectively. We had no intraoperative complications, and patients were discharged home 12.8 hours after surgery. Immediate warming of the feet was observed at the end of all procedures. On follow-up consultations, all patients referred a complete resolution of the plantar hyperhidrosis and 1 case of compensative hyperhidrosis on the back. CONCLUSIONS: Retroperitoneoscopic lumbar sympathectomy by unilateral access seems to be feasible when performed by a surgeon with experience on advanced laparoscopy. Larger series comparing unilateral to bilateral access are necessary to establish the real benefits and potential disadvantages of this new technique.

Adrenalectomy by retroperitoneal laparoendoscopic single site surgery.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is the current standard for treatment of benign adrenal disease. To reduce the invasiveness of surgery, new techniques have been recently proposed, such as mini-laparoscopy, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, and laparoendoscopic single site surgery (LESS). Herein, we describe one case of adrenalectomy by retroperitoneal LESS using conventional laparoscopic instruments and ports. CASE REPORT: A 52-year-old female patient with an incidental finding of a 3-cm mass in the left adrenal was referred to us. Preoperative blood concentrations of catecholamines, aldosterone, and cortisol, and urinary excretion of vanilmandelic acid were normal. She underwent an adrenalectomy by retroperitoneal LESS using conventional instruments and ports. Operative time and estimated blood loss were 82 minutes and ≤50cc, respectively. She was discharged 12 hours after surgery. No intra- or postoperative complications occurred. Pathological analysis of the specimen identified an adrenal cortical adenoma. CONCLUSION: Adrenalectomy by retroperitoneal LESS using conventional laparoscopic instruments is feasible. Further studies must be performed to evaluate safety, indications and benefits of this approach.

A comparison of hand-assisted and pure laparoscopic techniques in live donor nephrectomy.

PURPOSE: To compare hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy techniques in live donor nephrectomy. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included all patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy between May 2002 and December 2007. The operative data and post-operative courses were reviewed. Information was collected on the operative time, warm ischemia time, estimated blood loss, intra-operative complications, time to first oral intake, length of hospital stay, and post-operative complications. The data were analyzed using Student's t -tests and Fisher exact tests as appropriate, with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: The means of the operative duration, warm ischemia time and intra-operative bleeding were 83 min, 3.6 min and 130.9 cc, respectively, for hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and 78.4 min, 2.5 min and 98.9 cc, respectively, for pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.29, p<0.0001 and p=0.08, respectively). Intra-operative complications occurred in 6% of patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and in 4.5% of those submitted to pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.68). Only one patient from each group required conversion to open surgery; one person receiving hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy had bleeding and one person receiving pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy had low carbon dioxide levels during the warm ischemia period. Compared with patients receiving hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, patients submitted to pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy were able to take their first meal earlier (12.5 vs. 9.2 hours, p=0.046), were discharged home sooner (2.8 vs. 1.4 days, p<0.0001) and had fewer post-operative complications (7.5% vs. 0.6%, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy had some advantages over hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in terms of the warm ischemia time, time to first oral intake, length of hospital stay, and post-operative donor complications.

Cistectomia radical laparoscópica com reservatório ileal / Laparoscopic radical cystectomy with ileal reservoir

Worldwide experience with laparoscopic radical cystectomy is increasing in the last few years. We describe a 29-year-old female who underwent a laparoscopic radical cystectomy with ileal reservoir for a bladder sarcoma. Operative time was 405 minutes and estimated blood loss was 500 mL. She had an uneventful postoperative course and was discharged in the fifth postoperative day. Key-words: bladder, cystectomy, laparoscopy, urinary diversion, bladder neoplasms.

A comparison of hand-assisted and pure laparoscopic techniques in live donor nephrectomy

PURPOSE: To compare hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy techniques in live donor nephrectomy. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included all patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy between May 2002 and December 2007. The operative data and post-operative courses were reviewed. Information was collected on the operative time, warm ischemia time, estimated blood loss, intra-operative complications, time to first oral intake, length of hospital stay, and post-operative complications. The data were analyzed using Student's t -tests and Fisher exact tests as appropriate, with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: The means of the operative duration, warm ischemia time and intra-operative bleeding were 83 min, 3.6 min and 130.9 cc, respectively, for hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and 78.4 min, 2.5 min and 98.9 cc, respectively, for pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.29, p<0.0001 and p=0.08, respectively). Intra-operative complications occurred in 6 percent of patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and in 4.5 percent of those submitted to pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.68). Only one patient from each group required conversion to open surgery; one person receiving hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy had bleeding and one person receiving pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy had low carbon dioxide levels during the warm ischemia period. Compared with patients receiving hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, patients submitted to pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy were able to take their first meal earlier (12.5 vs. 9.2 hours, p=0.046), were discharged home sooner (2.8 vs. 1.4 days, p<0.0001) and had fewer post-operative complications (7.5 percent vs. 0.6 percent, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Pure laparoscopic live...

Laparoscopic running urethrovesical anastomosis with posterior fixation.

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a minimally invasive approach for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The most technically demanding and time-consuming part of this procedure is the urethrovesical anastomosis. Here we describe our technique for the urethrovesical anastomosis with a posterior fixation, using a running suture with two monofilament absorbable sutures. TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The first step comprises two X-shaped stitches placed in the posterior wall of the anastomosis (at 7 and 5 o'clock). Each suture is independently tied, leaving the knot (and consequently the needle) on the outside. The 7 and 5 o'clock sutures are then used to perform a clockwise (left wall) and a counterclockwise (right wall) running suture, respectively, and will meet at the 12 o'clock position for the third and final knot. An abdominal Penrose drain is routinely used for monitoring possible anastomotic leakages and is withdrawn when the 24-hour output is less than 100 mL. The patient is discharged as soon as the drain is removed. We performed this technique in 12 consecutive transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomies, with a mean anastomosis time of 37 minutes, mean operative time of 144 minutes, and mean hospital stay of 2.4 days. The average Foley catheter permanence was 9 days, and no bladder neck sclerosis/stricture was observed with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The described technique is a feasible and safe method for urethrovesical anastomosis. Although we had positive results in this initial cohort, further studies with larger series are needed to confirm these findings.