Experience with Laparoscopic Pyeloplasty, Including Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery, for Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic pyeloplasty was developed as a minimally invasive alternative to an open procedure for the treatment of ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction. We present our experience with the first 30 consecutive cases of laparoscopic pyeloplasty performed at our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 30 patients with ureteropelvic junction obstructions who underwent laparoscopic pyeloplasty between March 2004 and March 2009. Of the 30 patients, 5 patients underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RALP) since April 2008. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to operative procedure group 1, early laparoscopic pyeloplasty-dismembered (E/LP-D, n=9); group 2, late laparoscopic pyeloplasty-dismembered (L/LP-D, n=9); group 3, laparoscopic pyeloplasty-Fenger's method (LP-F, n=7); and group 4, RALP (n=5). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 34.0+/-12.8 years (range, 17-61 years). A crossing vessel was present in 37.9% of cases. Mean follow-up was 30+/-14 months (range, 11-62 months). Mean operative time was 267.3+/-78.7 minutes (range, 154-460 minutes), and the average length of the postoperative hospital stay was 4.6+/-1.6 days (range, 3-10 days). There were no intraoperative complications or transfusion. The success rate was 73.3%. The success rates of E/LP-D, L/LP-D, LP-F, and RALP were 6/9 (66.7%), 7/9 (77.8%), 5/7 (71.4%), and 4/5 (80%), respectively, without significant difference (p>0.05). Operation time and length of hospital stay were shorter in the L/LP-D group than in the E/LP-D group. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic pyeloplasty may be an alternative treatment for an ureteropelvic junction obstruction, but the technical complexity of the procedure has made it difficult for many surgeons to adopt. RALP is a technically feasible management option for UPJ obstruction.