Single-center experience of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) and extended pelvic lymph node dissection

Objective: To report the outcomes of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) series for bladder cancer. Material and methods: Between October 2016 and June 2019, overall 57 patients (50 men, 7 women) were included in the study. Patient demographics, operative data, and postoperative pathological outcomes were evaluated. Patients who had a history of pelvic or intraabdominal surgery due to other concurrent malignancy, radiation therapy, or lacked data were excluded from the study. Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.72 +/- 9.09 years. The mean operation time, intraoperative estimated blood loss, and hospitalization time were 418.58 +/- 85.66 minutes, 313.00 +/- 79.16mL, and 13.44 +/- 5.25 days, respectively. The postoperative pathological stages were reported as pT0 (n=8), pTis (n=4), pT1 (n=4), pT2 (n=22), pT3a (n=11), pT3b (n=2), pT4a (n=4), pT4b (n=1), and other (n=1). The mean lymph node (LN) yield was 23.45 +/- 943. Positive LNs were found in 16 (28.1%) patients. Surgical margins were positive in 3 (5.26%) patients. The mean follow-up period was 15.42 +/- 8.31 months. According to the modified Clavien-Dindo system, minor (Clavien 1-2) and major (Clavien 3-5) complications occurred in 18 (31.58%) and 9 (15.78%) patients during the early (0-30 days) period and in 4 (7.02%) and 5 (8.77%) patients in the late (31-90 days) period. Conclusion: RARC and ePLND are complex but safe procedures with acceptable morbidity and excellent surgical and oncologic outcomes in muscle-invasive or high-risk bladder tumors.