Laparoscopic resection of ancient schwannoma embedded in the psoas muscle.

Schwannoma is a tumor originating from the Schwann cell of the peripheral nerve sheath. The diagnosis of schwannoma is based on histologic analysis of surgically excised sample. Retroperitoneal ancient schwannoma, a variant of schwannoma, is rarely observed in clinical practice. We report the case of a 46-year-old man with a retroperitoneal tumor embedded in the psoas muscle, which was treated by laparoscopic resection. The operative result was good, and pathologic analysis revealed a 5.5 × 4.5 cm ancient schwannoma.

Operative outcomes of robotic partial nephrectomy: a comparison with conventional laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

PURPOSE: To determine the feasibility and safety of robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN), we compared the operative outcomes of patients who had undergone RPN with those of patients who had undergone laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between February 2009 and June 2010, 13 patients underwent transperitoneal RPN (group 1) and 14 patients underwent transperitoneal LPN (group 2) by a single surgeon. The operative outcomes of the 2 groups were compared by using Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: All cases were completed successfully without conversion to open surgery. The mean operative time was 153.2±22.3 and 117.5±32.0 minutes in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p=0.003). The mean robotic console time of group 1 was 101.2±21.5 minutes, and the mean laparoscopic time of group 2 was 86.8±32.3 minutes (p=0.139). The mean warm ischemic time was 35.3±8.5 minutes and 36.4±6.8 minutes in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p=0.823). The mean estimated blood loss was 283.6±113.5 ml and 264.1±163.7 ml (p=0.382), respectively. The mean length of hospital stay was 6.1 and 5.3 days (p=0.290), respectively. The mean tumor size was 2.7±1.2 cm and 2.0±1.2 cm (p=0.035), respectively. The surgical margins were negative in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Although the operative time of RPN was longer than that of LPN, there were no significant differences in operative outcomes including robotic console time and laparoscopic time between the procedures.