Surgical technique and clinical experience of robotic-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy with Mayo 0-Ⅲ inferior vena cava thrombectomy / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To summarize the surgical technique and clinical experience of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (RN) + venous tumor thrombectomy (VTTE) approach for renal tumor with Mayo grade 0-Ⅲ tumor thrombus, and to discuss its safety and efficacy.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 26 patients with renal tumor associated with Mayo 0-Ⅲ thrombus admitted to Peking University Third Hospital from October 2020 to September 2021. There were 17 male cases and 9 female cases. The mean age was (56.9±13.9) years. The mean body mass index (BMI) was (25.8±3.5) kg/m 2. The renal tumors were located on the left side in 12 cases and on the right side in 14 cases, with a mean tumor diameter of (7.8±2.9) cm. The tumors were graded by Mayo Mayo 0 in 10 cases, Mayo Ⅰ in 3 cases, Mayo Ⅱ in 11 cases and Mayo Ⅲ in 2 cases. The American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) graded 23 cases as grade 2 and 3 cases as grade 3. All 26 patients were treated by robotic-assisted laparoscopic approach with RN+ VTTE. Mayo 0 tumor thrombus was treated in the same way as radical nephrectomy. For Mayo Ⅰ tumor thrombus, the lateral wall of the IVC at the inferior vena cava (IVC) where the renal vein joins was clamped to partially block the IVC flow and then the thrombus was removed. For Mayo Ⅱ tumor thrombus, after blocking the flow in the IVC with three blocking bands, the wall of the IVC was dissected and the thrombus was removed. For Mayo Ⅲ tumor thrombus cut the short hepatic vein, free the liver, expose the posterior IVC and follow the same procedure as for Mayo Ⅱ tumor thrombus. Results:All 26 patients in this group were successfully operated on, 1 of which was converted to open surgery. The median operative time was 148.5 (77.0-399.0) min, and the median intraoperative estimated bleeding volume was 300 (10-2000) ml. Postoperative pathological diagnosis 18 cases of renal clear cell carcinoma, 2 cases of papillary renal cell carcinoma type Ⅱ, 2 cases of TEF gene fusion-related renal carcinoma, 1 case of unclassified renal cell carcinoma, 1 case of uroepithelial carcinoma and 2 cases of AML. In 2 of the 26 cases, segmental resection of the IVC was performed because the right renal VTT had extensively invaded the wall of the IVC. Due to the residual wall thrombus at the head of the tumour thrombus, 1 case underwent inferior vena cava dissection and the inferior vena cava was cut obliquely to preserve the left renal venous return. 6 patients underwent intraoperative lymph node dissection of the hilum, three of which had pathology suggestive of lymph node metastasis. 1 patient underwent adrenalectomy for tumor invasion of the ipsilateral adrenal gland. The median postoperative hospital stay was 7.2(4.0-22.0)d. According to the modified Clavien classification, there were 18 grade Ⅰ and 8 grade Ⅱ postoperative complications. 26 patients were followed up for 1-11 months, with a median follow-up time of 5.5 months. 3 cases developed distant metastases, including 1 case with tumour-specific death due to multiple metastases in the liver and retroperitoneum at 4 months of follow-up.Conclusions:Robotic-assisted laparoscopic RN+ VTTE is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of renal tumours with Mayo 0 to Ⅲ tumour thrombus, with the advantages of delicate operation, minimal trauma and low incidence of serious postoperative complications.