Background: Laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgery has been developed in attempt to further reduce the morbidity and scarring associated with surgical intervention.
Objective: To describe the technique and report the surgical outcomes of LESS radical nephrectomy (RN) in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.
Design, setting, and participants: LESS-RN was performed in 33 patients with renal tumours. The indications to perform a LESS-RN were represented by renal tumours not greater than T2 and without evidence of lymphadenopathy or renal vein involvement.
Surgical procedure: The Endocone (Karl Storz, Tuttlingen, Germany) was inserted through a transumbilical incision. A combination of standard laparoscopic instruments and bent grasper and scissors was used. The sequence of steps of LESS-RN was comparable to standard laparoscopic RN.
Measurements: Demographic data and perioperative and postoperative variables were recorded and analysed.
Results and limitations: The mean operative time was 143.7±24.3 min, with a mean estimated blood loss of 122.3±34.1 ml and a mean hospital stay of 3.8±0.8 d. The mean length of skin incision was 4.1±0.6 cm and all patients were discharged from hospital with minimal discomfort, as demonstrated by their pain assessment scores (visual analogue scale: 1.9±0.8). The definitive pathologic results revealed a renal cell carcinoma in all cases and a stage distribution of four T1a, 27 T1b, and 2 T2 tumours. All patients were very satisfied with the appearance of the scars, and at a median follow-up period of 13.2±3.9 mo, all patients were alive without evidence of tumour recurrence or port-site metastasis.
Conclusions: LESS is a safe and feasible surgical procedure for RN in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and has excellent cosmetic results.
Copyright © 2011 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.