Super-veil nerve-sparing extraperitoneal pure single-port robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy on da Vinci Si robotic system

Impact of transperitoneal anterior, retzius-sparing, extraperitoneal, transvesical and perineal approaches on urinary continence recovery after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies

BACKGROUND

Urinary incontinence significantly impacts on health-related quality of life of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. In the last decades, several approaches (extraperitoneal, Retzius-sparing (RS), perineal and, transvesical) for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) have proposed with the aim to improve functional outcomes in comparison with transperitoneal, anterior ones.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published in English language, in the last ten years, comparing the different approaches used to perform RARP. We included only studies reporting urinary continence rates at different follow-up time points. From each eligible study, we extracted the number of analyzed patients; the study design; the continence definition; and, when available, immediate, 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-mo urinary continence rates. Statistical analyses were performed using RevMan version 5.4 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, United Kingdom, UK). The Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was calculated using the generic inverse variance. A p value of <0.05 was set as significance level when comparing studies.

RESULTS

The meta-analyses of studies comparing anterior, transperitoneal RARP and RS-RARP in terms of immediate (OR = 3.73; 95% CI: 2.17-6.43; p < 0.0001), 1-mo (OR = 4.16; 95% CI: 2.68-6.48; p < 0.00001), 3-mo (OR 4.71; 95% CI: 3.70-6.00; p < 0.0001), 6-mo (OR 4.12; 95% CI: 2.95-5.75; p < 0.00001) and 12-mo (OR = 3.25; 95% CI: 1.76-5.99; p < 0.00001) urinary continence rates showed a statistically significant advantage in favor of RS approach. However, a sub-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials showed overlapping urinary continence rates between the two approaches at 6-mo (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 0.90-4.42; p = 0.09) and 12-mo (OR = 1.36; 95% CI: 0.43-4.31; p = 0.60) after surgery. The meta-analysis of studies comparing extraperitoneal and transperitoneal approaches showed that 6-mo urinary continence rates were overlapping between the two approaches (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 0.85-1.65; p = 0.32). The meta-analysis of studies comparing single-port (SP) and multi-port (MP) RARP showed comparable 6-mo urinary continence rates (OR = 0.93; 95% CI 0.65-1.33; p = 0.69).

CONCLUSIONS

Within the limitations of mainly low to moderate quality of evidence, the RS  approach offers significant advantages compared to an anterior, transperitoneal, approach in terms of urinary continence recovery at different follow-up time points in patients who underwent MP-RARP. MP perineal and transvesical approaches need to be further tested and might be of interest in the setting of SP-RARP. Our meta-analysis showed comparable results between SP- and MP-RARP in terms of urinary continence rates.

Early outcomes of single-site versus multi-port robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Single-site robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (ssRARP) has been promoted in many institutions due to its minimally invasive approach. This review aimed to investigate early outcomes of ssRARP in comparison with multi-port robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (mpRARP).

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed for articles related to ssRARP case series and studies that compared ssRARP with mpRARP. The primary outcomes were functional and oncological outcomes, incision length, length of hospital stay and cost.

RESULTS

24 ssRARP case series involving 1385 cases, and 11 comparative studies involving 573 ssRARP cases and 980 mpRARP cases were included. Rate of immediate, 3-month, 6-month and 12-month recovery of continence in the ssRARP case series were 41 % [95 % CI: 0.38-0.45], 70 % [95 % CI: 0.67-0.73], 90 % [95 % CI: 0.87-0.93] and 93 % [95 % CI: 0.90-0.96]. 3-month potency recovery and positive surgical margin rate were 53 % [95 % CI: 0.46-0.60] and 21 % [95 % CI: 0.19-0.24]. No significant differences were detected between ssRARP and mpRARP in terms of 3-month (OR: 1.12; 95 % CI: 0.80-1.57) or 6-month (OR: 0.72; 95 % CI: 0.36-1.46) continence recovery rate, 3-month potency recovery rate (OR: 0.92; 95 % CI: 0.50-1.70), positive surgical margin rate (OR: 0.83; 95 % CI: 0.62-1.11), biochemical recurrence rate or total cost. Furthermore, ssRARP was associated with a significantly shorter length of incision and hospital stay.

CONCLUSION

ssRARP has significant advantages in cosmetic effect, length of incision and rapid recovery. Consequently, ssRARP is expected to become the preferred form although more evidence is needed to determine its long-term effect.

Recent advances in single-site/incision robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy

INTRODUCTION

Single-site robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (ssRARP) has been successfully applied to treat prostate cancer. This review aims to describe the recent advances of surgical approaches, working accesses and novel robotic platforms in ssRARP.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus databases in December 2022 to identify all literature related to ssRARP.

RESULTS

A total of 48 relevant studies were found worldwide from 2008 to 2023. Since the introduction of ssRARP, various modifications of this technique in surgical approaches, working accesses and novel robotic platforms have been developed. The application of ssRARP using the da Vinci SP platform has shown great superiority with encouraging clinical outcomes.

DISCUSSION

There has been a potential shift toward ssRARP using the da Vinci SP platform due to its potential advantages in terms of lower blood loss, minimal postoperative pain, better cosmetic outcome and rapid recovery. More convincing evidence, further technical improvement and higher cost-effectiveness are needed for its widespread acceptance.

Single-site multiport vs. conventional multiport robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: A propensity score matching comparative study

Objective

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is a dynamically evolving technique with its new evolution of single-site RARP. Here we sought to describe our extraperitoneal technique, named the single-site multiport RARP (ssmpRARP) using the da Vinci Si® platform and compare it with the transperitoneal conventional multiport RARP (cmpRARP).

Materials and Methods

Data were retrospectively collected for patients who underwent RARP for localized prostate cancer from June 2020 to January 2022 in a single center. Propensity score matching was performed based on age, prostate size, body mass index, neoadjuvant hormonal therapy usage, prostate-specific antigen levels, and clinical T stage. The differences between the matched two groups were investigated.

Results

Of the patients, 20 underwent ssmpRARP and 42 underwent cmpRARP during the period. After matching, 18 patients from each group were selected. Median follow-up was 7.8 months (2–12 months) for the ssmpRARP group, and 15.0 months (3–26 months) for cmpRARP. The demographic features between the two groups were comparable. The median total operative time, estimated blood loss, pathologic data, early follow-up outcomes, and hospitalization stays and costs were similar between the two groups. The ssmpRARP group tended to return to their bowel activities earlier (44.78 ± 10.83 h vs. 54.89 ± 12.97 h, p = 0.016). There were no significant differences in complication rates.

Conclusions

We demonstrated the feasibility and safety of performing extraperitoneal ssmpRARP using the da Vinci Si® robotic platform. Our technique showed comparable short-term outcomes with the transperitoneal cmpRARP. Prospective trials and long-term follow-up are necessary to confirm these results.