An analysis of post-operative pain and narcotic use following robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy for same day discharge.

Robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) has become the primary surgical modality in the treatment of prostate cancer. Most patients are discharged on postoperative day one. Same-day discharge is emerging as a potential new standard. We sought to establish factors correlating with post-operative pain after RALP procedures to design a same-day discharge protocol. We retrospectively reviewed 150 of recently performed RALP procedures from March 2020 to January 2021. Patient demographics and intra-operative variables were compared to Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain scores and total morphine milliequivalents (MME) at 2 h, 8 h, and averaged over the patient's admission post-operatively or first 48 h, whichever occurred first. We performed univariable and multivariable logistic regression to assess correlations with postoperative pain and narcotic use. NRS average > 3 or any MME given at 2 h postoperatively was significantly associated with continued post-operative pain averaged over admission (rs = 0.32, 0.38, respectively; p < 0.001). MME given was also associated with longer operative time and negative related to body mass index. No other demographic data or intraoperative variables such as diabetes or pneumoperitoneum pressure were correlated with worsened post-operative pain scores > 3 or narcotic use. Local bupivacaine dose was also not associated with improved post-operative pain scores or narcotic use at 8 h (p = 0.98, 0.13). These findings suggest that patients with adequate postoperative pain control at 2 hours may be discharged same day from a pain control perspective. Further clinical evaluation regarding the role of local anesthetic use in RALPs is warranted.

Comparison of single-port and multi-port Retzius-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Dissemination of robotic surgical technology for robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) has yielded advancements including the Retzius-sparing (RS) approach and the single-port (SP) platform. The safety and feasibility of each individual advancement have been evaluated, yet there is a lack of literature comparing SP RS-RALP to conventional multi-port (MP) RS-RALP. All patients who underwent RS-RALP at our institution between January 2019 and February 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Data regarding baseline patient and tumor characteristics, operative characteristics, and surgical outcomes were collected and analyzed using the Fisher's exact test and two-tailed unpaired t tests. 62 patients were evaluated: 31 received SP RS-RALP and 31 received MP RS-RALP. Differences in patient age, BMI, and initial PSA were not observed. Lower median lymph node yield (SP: 4 vs MP: 12, p < 0.01), lower estimated blood loss (SP: 111.2 vs. MP 157.8 mL, p < 0.01), shorter operative time (SP: 207.7 vs. MP: 255.9 min, p < 0.01) and decreased length of stay (SP: 0.39 vs. MP: 1.23 days, p < 0.01) were observed in the SP RS-RALP cohort. No differences in positive surgical margins, complications, or biochemical recurrence rates were observed. SP RS-RALP is non-inferior to MP RS-RALP in terms of both perioperative and early oncologic outcomes. Despite the small sample size, the SP platform is a safe and feasible option for RS-RALP and confers potential benefits in the form of shorter operative time and reduced length of stay.

Role of the androgen, estrogen, and progesterone receptors in adherent perinephric fat in robotic partial nephrectomy.

To determine whether androgen, estrogen, and/or progesterone signaling play a role in the pathophysiology of adherent perinephric fat (APF). We prospectively recruited patients undergoing robotic assisted partial nephrectomy during 2015-2017. The operating surgeon documented the presence or absence of APF. For those with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), representative sections of tumor and perinephric fat were immunohistochemically stained with monoclonal antibody to estrogen α, progesterone, and androgen receptors. Patient characteristics, operative data, and hormone receptor presence were compared between those with and without APF. Of 51 patients total, 18 (35.3%) and 33 (64.7%) patients did and did not have APF, respectively. APF was associated with history of diabetes mellitus (61.1% vs 24.2%, p = 0.009) and larger tumors (4.0 cm vs 3.0 cm, p = 0.017) but not with age, gender, BMI, Charleston comorbidity index, smoking, or preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate. APF was not significantly associated with length of operation, positive margins, or 30-day postoperative complications but incurred higher estimated blood loss (236.5 mL vs 209.2 mL, p = 0.049). Thirty-two had ccRCC and completed hormone receptor staining. The majority of tumors and perinephric fat were negative for estrogen and progesterone while positive for androgen receptor expression. There was no difference in hormone receptor expression in either tumor or perinephric fat when classified by presence or absence of APF (p > 0.05). APF is more commonly present in patients with diabetes or larger tumors but was not associated with differential sex hormone receptor expression in ccRCC.

Initial Experience with Single-Port Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy: Comparison of Perioperative Outcomes Between Single-Port and Conventional Multiport Approaches.

Background: The surgical techniques and devices used to perform radical cystectomy have evolved significantly with the advent of laparoscopic and robotic methods. The da Vinci® Single-Port (SP) platform (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) is an innovation that allows a surgeon to perform robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) through a single incision. To determine if this new tool is comparable to its multiport (MP) predecessors, we reviewed a single-surgeon experience of SP RARC. Materials and Methods: We identified patients at our institution who underwent RARC between August 2017 and June 2020 by one surgeon at our institution (n = 64). Using propensity scoring analysis, patients whose procedure were performed with the SP platform (n = 12) were matched 1:2 to patients whose procedure was performed with the MP platform (n = 24). Univariable analysis was performed to identify differences in any perioperative outcome, including operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), lymph node yield, 90-day complication/readmission rates, and positive surgical margin (PSM) rates. Results: Patients who had an SP RARC on average had a lower lymph node yield than those who had an MP RARC (11.9 vs 17.1, p = 0.0347). All other perioperative outcomes, including operative time, EBL, 90-day complication rates, 90-day readmission rates, and PSM rates, were not significantly different between the SP and MP RARC groups. Conclusions: Based on their perioperative outcomes, the SP platform is a feasible alternative to the MP platform when performing RARC. The SP's perioperative outcomes should continue to be evaluated as more SP RARCs are performed.