Laparoscopic renal surgery is here to stay

Objectives

To review the current literature comparing the outcomes of renal surgery via open, laparoscopic and robotic approaches.

Materials and methods

A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed, MEDLINE and Ovid, to look for studies comparing outcomes of renal surgery via open, laparoscopic, and robotic approaches.

Results

Limited good-quality evidence suggests that all three approaches result in largely comparable functional and oncological outcomes. Both laparoscopic and robotic approaches result in less blood loss, analgesia requirement, with a shorter hospital stay and recovery time, with similar complication rates when compared with the open approach. Robotic renal surgeries have not shown any significant clinical benefit over a laparoscopic approach, whilst the associated cost is significantly higher.

Conclusion

With the high cost and lack of overt clinical benefit of the robotic approach, laparoscopic renal surgery will likely continue to remain relevant in treating various urological pathologies.