Laparoscopic Radical Cystectomy: a 5-year review of a single institute's operative data and complications and a systematic review of the literature

Objective: We aim to evaluate our experience and results with laparoscopic radical cystectomy and conduct a systematic review of studies reporting on 50 or more procedures. Materials and Methods: Between February 2006 and March 2011, a prospective study in a single institute on patients with bladder cancer who underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy was conducted. A search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Medline, and Scopus databases was conducted for studies reporting on 50 or more laparoscopic radical cystectomy procedures to compare with our results. Results: Sixty men and five women underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy during the 5-year study period. Thirty-nine patients were submitted to ileal conduits, 24 to neobladders, and two patients to ureterocutaneostomies. The mean operative time was 294 +/- 27 minutes, the mean blood loss was 249.69 +/- 95.59 millilitres, the mean length of hospital stay was 9.42 +/- 2 days, the mean morphine requirement was 3.69 +/- 0.8 days. The overall complication rate was 44.6% (29/65). However, the majority of the patients with complications (90% (26/29)) had minor complications treated conservatively with no further surgical intervention needed. The literature search found seven studies, which reported on their institutions' laparoscopic radical cystectomy results of 50 or more patients. Generally, our results were similar to other reported studies of the same calibre. Conclusion: Laparoscopic radical cystectomy is a safe and efficient modality of treatment of bladder cancer. However, it comes with a steep learning curve, once overcome, can provide an alternative to open radical cystectomy.