Initial Experience With Extraperitoneal Laparoscopic Radical Cystectomy With Pelvic Organ-Preserving and Orthotopic Neobladder Techniques for Bladder Cancer in Female Patients

Functional Outcomes of Orthotopic Neobladder in Women

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review paper summarizes the available literature on the evolution of surgical approach to radical cystectomy in female bladder cancer patients and its impact on functional outcomes in orthotopic neobladder.

RECENT FINDINGS

Traditionally, radical cystectomy in female bladder cancer patients has been maximally extirpative with pelvic exenteration. Recently, new techniques which include pelvic organ-sparing, nerve-sparing and vaginal-sparing have demonstrated improved rates of urinary incontinence and retention. Additional techniques include prophylactic apical suspension which reduces the likelihood of pelvic organ prolapse, a risk factor for voiding dysfunction in the setting of orthotopic neobladder. Surgical management of bladder cancer in female patients has evolved to include surgical approaches which center quality of life and functional outcomes that are unique to female patients who have undergone radical cystectomy with ileal neobladder and can be optimized based on considerations regarding an approach that limits pelvic floor and pelvic nerve disruption.

Post-Operational Photodynamic Therapy of the Tumor Bed: Comparative Analysis for Cold Knife and Laser Scalpel Resection

In this paper, we report on a study regarding the efficiency of the post-operational phototherapy of the tumor bed after resection with both a cold knife and a laser scalpel in laboratory mice with CT-26 tumors. Post-operational processing included photodynamic therapy (PDT) with a topically applied chlorin-based photosensitizer (PS), performed at wavelengths of 405 or 660 nm, with a total dose of 150 J/cm2. The selected design of the tumor model yielded zero recurrence in the laser scalpel group and 92% recurrence in the cold knife group without post-processing, confirming the efficiency of the laser scalpel in oncology against the cold knife. The application of PDT after the cold knife resection decreased the recurrence rate to 70% and 42% for the 405 nm and 660 nm procedures, respectively. On the other hand, the application of PDT after the laser scalpel resection induced recurrence rates of 18% and 30%, respectively, for the considered PDT performance wavelengths. The control of the penetration of PS into the tumor bed by fluorescence confocal microscopy indicated the deeper penetration of PS in the case of the cold knife, which presumably provided deeper PDT action, while the low-dose light exposure of deeper tissues without PS, presumably, stimulated tumor recurrence, which was also confirmed by the differences in the recurrence rate in the 405 and 660 nm groups. Irradiation-only light exposures, in all cases, demonstrated higher recurrence rates compared to the corresponding PDT cases. Thus, the PDT processing of the tumor bed after resection could only be recommended for the cold knife treatment and not for the laser scalpel resection, where it could induce tumor recurrence.