Technical points of Retzius-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy with retrograde release of the neurovascular bundle / 现代泌尿外科杂志

Retzius-sparing robot assisted radical prostatectomy (RS-RARP) can significantly improve the immediate urinary continence without increasing the positive rate of surgical margin.However, the learning curve is long, and fewer than 10% of the surgeons can master it.Therefore,we have optimized the procedures of RS-RARP, applying radical prostatectomy with retrograde release of neurovascular bundle to preserve it to the maximum extent.Urethral anastomosis can be performed with only one suture, which eliminates the need for Hem-o-lok and reduces subsequent complications.Our team routinely carries out this operation, and conlcudes that this surgical method can achieve good tumor control, good urinary continence, fast recovery of sexual function, few complications, and strong operability.This article details the key steps and operation experience of this technique.

Preliminary experience with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy by extraperitoneal three-hole method / 现代泌尿外科杂志

【Objective】 To introduce a surgical technique modified by our center, the establishment of a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) channel with extraperitoneal three-port method, and discuss its methods, skills, safety and efficacy. 【Methods】 Clinical data of 21 patients with early and intermediate prostate cancer treated with this surgery during Aug.2022 and Jun.2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Surgical time, intraoperative bleeding volume, postoperative complications, drainage tube retention time, postoperative hospital stay, and follow-up results were observed. 【Results】 All 21 cases of surgery were successfully completed by the same surgeon, without peritoneal rupture or addition of auxiliary holes.The time to establish the extraperitoneal gap and install robotic arm was 20.2 (16.0-28.0) min, the operation time was 107.0(60.0-161.0) min, the amount of intraoperative bleeding was 52.8 (31.0-121.0) mL.All patents resumed eating and drinking the next day after operation.The drainage tube indwelling time was 3.9 (2.0-6.0) d, and the postoperative hospital stay was 4.9 (3.0-7.0) d.No serious complications occurred.The urinary catheter was removed 10 days after operation.One month after operation, 20 patients (95.2%) achieved satisfactory urinary control.The postoperative pathology was prostate adenocarcinoma in all cases, with negative margins, and the prognostic grouping of ISUP was 2 cases in group 1, 6 cases in group 2, 10 cases in group 3, 2 cases in group 4, and 1 case in group 5. 【Conclusion】 RARP by extraperitoneal three-hole method is safe and feasible, with exact establishment of extraperitoneal space, few collisions between instruments, low surgical costs, fast postoperative intestinal recovery, aesthetic incision, and satisfactory recovery of urinary control.

Clinical factors of positive surgical margin after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in patients with high-risk prostate cancer / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the positive surgical margin and clinical factors such as neoadjuvant hormonal therapy after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP) in high-risk patients with prostate cancer.Methods:The clinical data of 164 patients with high-risk prostate cancer being performed RARP by one surgeon were analyzed retrospectively in our hospital from January 2016 to January 2022. The mean patient’s age was (65.3±6.2) years old, mean body mass index (BMI) was (25.6±3.0) kg/m 2, the median value of total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) before operation was 18.6(11.3, 31.3)ng/ml, the median value of Gleason score before operation was 7 (7, 8), the median value of prostate volume was 29.3 (22.4, 40.2) ml, and the clinical stage was T 2aN 0M 0-T 4N 0M 0. 80 patients with prostate cancer were treated with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy. All of them were treated with complete androgen blockade with a median course of 3 months. Univariate analysis was used to analyze the correlation between age, BMI, prostate volume, neoadjuvant hormonal therapy, preoperative tPSA, clinical stage, Gleason score before operation and positive surgical margin. Then multivariate logistic regression was used to further analyze the independent risk factor of positive surgical margin after RARP. Results:The postoperative pathological diagnosis included pT 2 stage in 111 cases (67.7%), pT 3a stage in 15 cases (9.1%), pT 3b stage in 25 cases (15.2%), pT 4 stage in 13 cases (7.9%). No lymph node metastasis was noticed in all patients. The Gleason scores included 6 in 11 cases (6.7%), 3+ 4 in 26 cases (15.9%), 4+ 3 in 36 cases (22.0%), 8 in 17 cases (10.4%), 9-10 in 24 cases (14.6%), un-evaluation due to endocrine therapy in 50 (30.5%). The positive surgical margin of high-risk patients with prostate cancer was 44.5% (73/164). Univariate analysis showed that the neoadjuvant hormonal therapy, tPSA and clinical stage were correlated with positive surgical margin ( P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that non-neoadjuvant hormonal therapy, preoperative tPSA>20ng/ml and clinical stage>T 2b were independent risk factors for positive surgical margin of high-risk patients with prostate cancer. Stratified analysis showed that when the preoperative tPSA was 10-20 ng/ml(21.1% vs.55.9%, P=0.014), the clinical stage was T 2c(29.6% vs.49.1%, P=0.040), the Gleason score before operation was 7(19.4% vs.54.1%, P=0.003), the positive surgical margin of high-risk patients in the neoadjuvant hormonal therapy group was significantly lower than that in the non-neoadjuvant hormonal therapy group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Non-neoadjuvant hormonal therapy, preoperative tPSA>20 ng/ml and clinical stage>T 2b were independent risk factors for positive surgical margin of RARP in the high-risk patients with prostate cancer. For high-risk patients with preoperative tPSA of 10-20 ng/ml, clinical stage of T 2c and Gleason score before operation of 7, neoadjuvant hormonal therapy has important clinical significance in reducing the positive surgical margin of RARP.

Comparison of the effects of deep and moderate neuromuscular block on respiratory system compliance and surgical space conditions during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: a randomized clinical study / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Objective: Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) requires pneumoperitoneum (Pnp) and a steep head-down position that may disturb respiratory system compliance (Crs) during surgery. Our aim was to compare the effects of different degrees of neuromuscular block (NMB) on Crs with the same Pnp pressure during RARP. Methods: One hundred patients who underwent RARP were enrolled and randomly allocated to a deep or moderate NMB group with 50 patients in each group. Rocuronium was administered to both groups: in the moderate NMB group to maintain 1–2 responses to train-of-four (TOF) stimulation; and in the deep NMB group to maintain no response to TOF stimulation and 1–2 responses in the post-tetanic count. Pnp pressure in both groups was 10 mmHg (1 mmHg=133.3 Pa). Peak inspiratory pressure (Ppeak), mean pressure (Pmean), Crs, and airway resistance (Raw) were recorded after anesthesia induction and at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min of Pnp and post-Pnp. Surgical space conditions were evaluated after the procedure on a 4-point scale. Results: Immediately after the Pnp, Ppeak, Pmean, and Raw significantly increased, while Crs decreased and persisted during Pnp in both groups. The results did not significantly differ between the two groups at any of the time points. There was no difference in surgical space conditions between groups. Body movements occurred in 14 cases in the moderate NMB group and in one case in the deep NMB group, and all occurred during obturator lymphadenectomy. A significant difference between the two groups was observed. Conclusions: Under the same Pnp pressure in RARP, deep and moderate NMBs resulted in similar changes in Crs, and in other respiratory mechanics and surgical space conditions. However, deep NMB significantly reduced body movements during surgery.

Comparison of the effects of deep and moderate neuromuscular block on respiratory system compliance and surgical space conditions during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: a randomized clinical study / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

OBJECTIVE@#Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) requires pneumoperitoneum (Pnp) and a steep head-down position that may disturb respiratory system compliance (Crs) during surgery. Our aim was to compare the effects of different degrees of neuromuscular block (NMB) on Crs with the same Pnp pressure during RARP.@*METHODS@#One hundred patients who underwent RARP were enrolled and randomly allocated to a deep or moderate NMB group with 50 patients in each group. Rocuronium was administered to both groups: in the moderate NMB group to maintain 1-2 responses to train-of-four (TOF) stimulation; and in the deep NMB group to maintain no response to TOF stimulation and 1-2 responses in the post-tetanic count. Pnp pressure in both groups was 10 mmHg (1 mmHg=133.3 Pa). Peak inspiratory pressure (Ppeak), mean pressure (Pmean), Crs, and airway resistance (Raw) were recorded after anesthesia induction and at 0, 30, 60, and 90 min of Pnp and post-Pnp. Surgical space conditions were evaluated after the procedure on a 4-point scale.@*RESULTS@#Immediately after the Pnp, Ppeak, Pmean, and Raw significantly increased, while Crs decreased and persisted during Pnp in both groups. The results did not significantly differ between the two groups at any of the time points. There was no difference in surgical space conditions between groups. Body movements occurred in 14 cases in the moderate NMB group and in one case in the deep NMB group, and all occurred during obturator lymphadenectomy. A significant difference between the two groups was observed.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Under the same Pnp pressure in RARP, deep and moderate NMBs resulted in similar changes in Crs, and in other respiratory mechanics and surgical space conditions. However, deep NMB significantly reduced body movements during surgery.

Transperitoneal versus extraperitoneal robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To compare the clinical effects of transperitoneal (Tp) versus extraperitoneal (Ep) robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in the treatment of localized prostate cancer.@*METHODS@#We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, CNKI, and CBM for the articles comparing the clinical effect Tp-RARP with that of Ep-RARP in the treatment of localized prostate cancer published from January 2000 to November 2016. All the articles must meet the inclusion criteria, that is, dealing with at least one of the following aspects: operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative catheterization time, length of bed confinement, perioperative complications, positive surgical margins, bowel-related complications, postoperative anastomotic leakage, and postoperative urinary continence. We subjected the data obtained to statistical analysis using the RevMan5.3 software.@*RESULTS@#Two randomized controlled trials and six case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis, involving 451 cases of Tp-RARP and 676 cases of Ep-RARP. Compared with Tp-RARP, Ep-RARP showed significantly shorter operation time (WMD = 21.39, 95% CI: 7.54－35.24, P = 0.002), shorter length of bed confinement (WMD = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.61－1.09, P <0.001), and lower rate of bowel-related complications (RR = 9.74, 95% CI: 3.26－29.07, P <0.001). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the two strategies in intraoperative blood loss (WMD = －8.12, 95% CI: －27.86－11.63, P = 0.42), postoperative catheterization time (WMD = 0.17, 95% CI: －0.55－0.21, P = 0.38), or the rates of perioperative complications (RR = 1.34, 95% CI: －0.97－1.87, P = 0.08), positive surgical margins (RR = 1.24, 95% CI: 0.95－1.61, P = 0.12), anastomotic leakage (RR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.46－2.10, P = 0.95), urinary continence at 3 months (RR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.91－1.00, P = 0.05) and urinary continence at 6 months (RR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.97－1.02, P = 0.82).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Ep-RARP has the advantages of shorter operation time, shorter length of bed confinement and lower rate of bowel-related complications over Tp-RARP, and therefore may be a better option for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. However, more multi-centered randomized controlled clinical trials are needed for further evaluation of these two approaches.

Positive surgical margins in robot-assisted or open radical prostatectomy: A comparative study / 第二军医大学学报

Objective To compare the positive surgical margins of the cases by a single surgeon using open versus robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Methods We chose one surgeon’s 387 eligible cases with prostatic cancer, of whom 81 underwent open radical prostatectomy and 306 underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in Department of Urology of Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University from Jan. 2009 to May 2017. A positive surgical margin was defined as the presence of tumor cells at the inked surface of the resected specimen. We collected all patients’ data from the prostate cancer follow-up database, including age, pre-operative level of prostate specific antigen (PSA), post-operative pathological Gleason score, pathological T staging, and upper and lower margins status. We used propensity score matching to match the data of two groups to ensure the consistency and finally analyzed the difference of positive surgical margins between the two matched groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent influencing factors of positive surgical margins. Results We successfully matched 81 pairs of cases by propensity score matching using age, pre-operative level of PSA, post-operative pathologic Gleason score and pathological T staging as prediction variables. The positive rates of upper, lower and total surgical margins showed no significant differences between open and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (upper:22.2%[18/81] vs 18.5%[15/81]; lower:29.6%[24/81] vs 30.9%[25/81]; total:38.3%[31/81] vs 38.3%[31/81]). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that pre-operative level of PSA (P=0.011) and pathological T stage (P=0.000) were independent influencing factors of positive surgical margin. Conclusion Robot-assisted and open radical prostatectomies show a similar integrity in radical prostatectomy.

Urinary Continence after Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: The Impact of Intravesical Prostatic Protrusion

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP) on the outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records of 1094 men who underwent RALP from January 2007 to March 2013 were analyzed using our database to identify 641 additional men without IPP (non-IPP group). We excluded 259 patients who presented insufficient data and 14 patients who did not have an MRI image. We compared the following parameters: preoperative transrectal ultrasound, prostate specific antigen (PSA), clinicopathologic characteristics, intraoperative characteristics, postoperative oncologic characteristics, minor and major postoperative complications, and continence until postoperative 1 year. IPP grade was stratified by grade into three groups: Grade 1 (IPP≤5 mm), Grade 2 (5 mm10 mm). RESULTS: Of the 821 patients who underwent RALP, 557 (67.8%) experienced continence at postoperative 3 months, 681 (82.9%) at 6 months, and 757 (92.2%) at 12 months. According to IPP grade, there were significant differences in recovering full continence at postoperative 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months (p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, IPP was the most powerful predictor of postoperative continence in patients who underwent RALP (p<0.001). Using a generalized estimating equation model, IPP also was shown to be the most powerful independent variable for postoperative continence in patients who underwent RALP (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with low-grade IPP have significantly higher chances of recovering full continence. Therefore, the known IPP grade will be helpful during consultations with patients before RALP.

Iliac Vein Injury Due to a Damaged Hot Shearstrade mark Tip Cover During Robot Assisted Radical Prostatectomy

We report a rare case of vascular injury secondary to a damaged Hot Shearstrade mark tip cover. Two 1 mm holes in the tip cover resulted in perforations in the obturator and external iliac veins during pelvic node dissection. Bleeding was controlled with bipolar coagulation and a 5 mm metal clip in the obturator and iliac vein, respectively. The rest of the procedure was completed uneventfully. Frequent integrity assessment of this accessory is necessary. Its function is important in order to carry out safe dissection in proximity to delicate structures. When injuries arise from areas not directly involved in the dissection, immediate inspection of the instruments should be mandatory.