Positive margins in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in 855 cases: a multi-institutional survey from the United States and Europe

PURPOSE

Open partial nephrectomy has emerged as the standard of care in the management of renal tumors smaller than 4 cm. While laparoscopic radical nephrectomy has been shown to be comparable to open radical nephrectomy with respect to long-term outcomes, important questions remain unanswered regarding the oncological efficacy of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. We examined the practice patterns and pathological outcomes following laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey was sent to academic medical centers in the United States and in Europe performing laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. The total number of laparoscopic partial nephrectomies, positive margins, indications for intraoperative frozen biopsy as well as tumor size and position were queried.

RESULTS

Surveys suitable for analysis were received from 17 centers with a total of 855 laparoscopic partial nephrectomy cases. Mean tumor size was 2.7 cm (+/-0.6). There were 21 cases with positive margins on final pathology, giving an overall positive margin rate of 2.4%. Intraoperative frozen sections were performed selectively at 10 centers based on clinical suspicion of positive margins on excised tumor. Random biopsies were routinely performed on the resection bed at 5 centers. Frozen sections were never performed at 2 centers. Of the 21 cases with positive margins 14 underwent immediate radical nephrectomy based on the frozen section and 7 were followed expectantly.

CONCLUSIONS

Early experience with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in this multicenter study demonstrates oncological efficacy comparable to that of open partial nephrectomy with respect to the incidence of positive margins. The practice of intraoperative frozen sections varied among centers and is not definitive in guiding the optimal surgical treatment.

Simple nephrectomy: hand-assisted technique

Chronic inflammation or prior surgical procedures may complicate the laparoscopic performance of simple nephrectomy. In these difficult cases, hand-assisted laparoscopy may be useful. The position of the hand port depends on the particular situation, but the port must allow flexion of the wrist and access to the entire surgical field. The hand-assisted procedure is similar to standard laparoscopy in analgesic use, time to oral intake, length of stay, and time to full recovery. Hand-assisted laparoscopy allows the inexperienced surgeon to perform laparoscopy with the aid of tactile sensation and three-dimensional spatial orientation. For the experienced surgeon, the technique offers an alternative to open conversion when the laparoscopic procedure fails to progress.

Detrusor contraction duration may predict response to alpha-blocker therapy for lower urinary tract symptoms

OBJECTIVES

Baseline pressure/flow parameters have not correlated well with response to medical therapy for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). This open-label, nonrandomized retrospective study was designed to evaluate whether the urodynamic parameter duration (in seconds) of the detrusor contraction (DCD) correlates better with alpha-blocker response than previously described urodynamic parameters.

METHODS

93 men (mean age 62.6+/-8.5) with LUTS underwent urodynamic evaluation prior to initiating therapy with doxazosin titrated to 8 mg and followed for 6 months. Parameters of evaluation included the AUA symptom score (AUASx), peak urinary flow rate (Q(max)), maximal detrusor pressure (P(max)), detrusor pressure at maximal flow (P(det)) and DCD. The correlation and predictive value of therapeutic response and baseline urodynamic parameters were assessed.

RESULTS

85 patients were evaluable at 6 months. For the entire group, AUASx decreased from 15.1+/-6.9 to 9.7+/-5.1 (-36%) and Q(max) increased from 9.3+/-3.7 to 11.9+/-5.7 ml/s (+28%). Baseline P(max) was 74.8+/-19.6 cm H(2)O, P(det) was 61.6+/-18.9 cm H(2)O and DCD was 107.6+/-28.6 s. There was weak correlation between either baseline P(max) or P(det) and therapeutic response (defined as a decrease in AUASx of 40% and an increase in Q(max) of 30%). Utilizing a baseline DCD of 90 s or more, there was a significant correlation to therapeutic response (r = 0.48, p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

These preliminary data suggest that DCD may be a useful urodynamic parameter to predict and optimize therapy with a-blockade. The potential utility and cost-effectiveness of DCD remains to be determined.

The role of the reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assay for prostate-specific antigen in the selection of patients for radical prostatectomy

Prostate cells present in the peripheral circulation can be detected using an enhanced reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay. In one study, preoperative enhanced RT-PCR for PSA status was a significant predictor of surgical pathology and postoperative biomechanical recurrence. The use of RT-PCR may enhance the urologist's ability to stage potential candidates for radical prostatectomy, as the assay is a more sensitive and specific predictor of microscopic extracapsular extension than conventional staging modalities. This highly adaptable assay also may have roles in screening for recurrence and in staging other solid tumors.

[Celioscopic lymphatic excision and perineal radical prostatectomy: a strategy for the treatment of prostatic cancer]

Radical perineal prostatectomy despite its many advantages over the past decade had decreased in popularity compared with the retropubic approach and was limited to a few specific indications. The primary reason for this trend was in the ability to first evaluate pelvic lymph node metastases by frozen section using only one retropubic incision. Recently our institution has developed an alternative method which combines laparoscopic lymph node dissection (LLND) with radical perineal prostatectomies (RPP). From January 1990 to January 1992, 30 patients with a mean age of 64 were identified as having clinical stage B prostatic carcinoma. From this population a total of 36 procedures were performed by the senior author. 9 patients underwent LLND alone (group 1), 13 patients underwent RPP alone (group 2) and 14 patients underwent combination LLND and RPP (group 3). The mean EBL for groups 1, 2 and 3 were 1.2, 5 and 5.6 days respectively. Number of transfusions for patients requiring blood in groups 2 and 3 were 1.2 units and 1.5 units respectively. There were no significant differences in post-operative stay, post-operative complications, day tolerating diet or days of analgesia despite the difference in operating room and anesthesia time: group 2 (2:25) and group 3 (5:29). All levels of PSA in groups 2 and 3 remain trace at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post operatively except for one patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)