Utility of the HYBRID Method Incorporating the Advantages of Both Extracorporeal and Intracorporeal Urinary Diversion in Robotic-Assisted Radical Cystectomy

Background Robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is a well-known standard procedure for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, it remains controversial whether extracorporeal urinary diversion (ECUD) or intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) is superior in this technique. We have developed a HYBRID method that combines ECUD and ICUD to retain the advantages of each. The purpose of this study was to compare perioperative outcomes between HYBRID and ECUD in RARC and to evaluate the usefulness of the HYBRID method. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative outcomes of 36 consecutive bladder cancer patients who underwent RARC with ileal conduit at our institution between March 2013 and December 2021. Propensity-score matching was used to align patient backgrounds between the HYBRID and ECUD groups. Results After matching, 12 cases were selected for each group. There was no significant difference in patient demographics between the groups except for the rate of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Mean console time was significantly longer in the HYBRID group due to intracorporeal manipulation; however, a relatively favorable trend of mean blood loss was observed in this group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of positive surgical margin, mean number of lymph node removed, or positive lymph node. The incidences of complications associated and non-associated with the urinary tract and grade >= III complications at postoperative day (POD) 0-30 and 31-90 were similar between the groups. In the HYBRID group, no complications non-associated with the urinary tract or grade >= III complications were observed at POD 31-90. Conclusion The HYBRID method takes advantage of the benefits of both ICUD and ECUD and is a highly applicable technique that can be used in a variety of patient backgrounds.