PURPOSEHuman urinary bladder transplantation has never been performed. From a technical standpoint, challenges include the complex deep pelvic vascular anatomy, limited intraoperative visualization, ...and high procedural complexity. In preparation for a first-in-human clinical trial, we report preclinical studies to develop the technique of robotic retrieval and autotransplantation of vascularized composite bladder allograft. MATERIALS AND METHODSInstitutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Institutional Review Board, and UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) approvals were obtained, and IDEAL (Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term Study) Reporting Guidelines were followed. Robotic vascularized composite bladder allograft recovery, back-table graft preparation, and robotic autotransplantation were performed in 3 vascularized model settings: living porcine (n=3), pulsatile human cadavers (n=2), and heart-beating brain-dead deceased research human donors (n=5). Our primary objective was to develop a reproducible technique for robotic vascularized composite bladder allograft transplantation. Technical success was defined by adequate, sustained vascularized composite bladder allograft reperfusion. Secondary objectives were intraoperative parameters, including operative time, graft ischemia time, and blood loss. RESULTSSuccessful robotic vascularized composite bladder allograft autotransplantation was achieved in 2 porcine, 1 cadaver, and 3 brain-dead research donors. In the heart-beating research donors, console time decreased with successive surgeries, and visual inspection revealed healthy revascularized autografts with prompt, global indocyanine green immunofluorescence uptake. In 1 heart-beating donor who was hemodynamically maintained for 12 hours postoperatively, reinspection confirmed excellent maintained global vascularized composite bladder allograft vascularity and bladder mucosal integrity. CONCLUSIONSTo our knowledge, the first preclinical experience of bladder autotransplantation in vascularized models is reported, including robotic vascularized composite bladder allograft recovery, back-table reconstruction, and autotransplantation. This experience represents the essential preclinical work required to build toward the first-in-human trial of bladder transplantation, performed under a UNOS-approved genitourinary vascularized composite bladder allograft program (NCT No. 05462561).
Tremendous interest and need lie at the intersection of telemedicine and minimally invasive surgery. Robotics provides an ideal environment for surgical telementoring and telesurgery given its ...endoscopic optics and mechanized instrument movement. We review the present status, current challenges and future promise of telemedicine in endoscopic and minimally invasive surgery with a focus on urological applications.
Two paired investigators screened PubMed®, Scopus® and Web of Science® databases for all full text English language articles published between 1995 and 2016 using the key words “telemedicine,” “minimally invasive surgical procedure,” “robotic surgical procedure,” “education” and “distance.” We categorized and included studies of level of interaction between proctors and trainees. Research design, special equipment, telecommunication network bandwidth and research outcomes of each study were ascertained and analyzed.
Of 65 identified reports 38 peer-reviewed studies qualified for inclusion. Series were categorized into 4 advancing levels, ie verbal guidance, guidance with telestration, guidance with tele-assist and telesurgery. More advanced levels of surgical telementoring provide more effective and experiential teaching but are associated with increased telecommunication network bandwidth requirements and expenses. Concerns regarding patient safety and legal, financial, economic and ethical issues remain to be reconciled.
Telementoring and telesurgery in minimally invasive surgery are becoming more practical and cost effective in facilitating teaching of advanced surgical skills worldwide and delivery of surgical care to underserved areas, yet many challenges remain. Maturity of these modalities depends on financial incentives, favorable legislation and collaboration with cybersecurity experts to ensure safety and cost-effectiveness.
Abstract Context Partial nephrectomy (PN) is the current gold standard treatment for small localized renal tumors.; however, the impact of duration and type of intraoperative ischemia on renal ...function (RF) after PN is a subject of significant debate. Objective To review the current evidence on the relationship of intraoperative ischemia and RF after PN. Evidence acquisition A review of English-language publications on renal ischemia and RF after PN was performed from 2005 to 2014 using the Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Ninety-one articles were selected with the consensus of all authors and analyzed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria. Evidence synthesis The vast majority of reviewed studies were retrospective, nonrandomized observations. Based on the current literature, RF recovery after PN is strongly associated with preoperative RF and the amount of healthy kidney parenchyma preserved. Warm ischemia time (WIT) is modifiable and prolonged warm ischemia is significantly associated with adverse postoperative RF. Available data suggest a benefit of keeping WIT <25 min, although the level of evidence to support this threshold is limited. Cold ischemia safely facilitates longer durations of ischemia. Surgical techniques that minimize or avoid global ischemia may be associated with improved RF outcomes. Conclusions Although RF recovery after PN is strongly associated with quality and quantity of preserved kidney, efforts should be made to limit prolonged WIT. Cold ischemia should be preferred when longer ischemia is expected, especially in presence of imperative indications for PN. Additional research with higher levels of evidence is needed to clarify the optimal use of renal ischemia during PN. Patient summary In this review of the literature, we looked at predictors of renal function after surgical resection of renal tumors. There is a strong association between the quality and quantity of renal tissue that is preserved after surgery and long-term renal function. The time of interruption of renal blood flow during surgery is an important, modifiable predictor of postoperative renal function.
Purpose Open partial nephrectomy has proven long-term oncologic efficacy. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy outcomes at 5 to 7 years of followup appear comparable to those of the open approach. We ...present the 10-year outcomes of patients who underwent laparoscopic or open partial nephrectomy for a single clinical stage cT1 7 cm or less renal cortical tumor. Materials and Methods Of 1,541 patients treated with partial nephrectomy for a single cT1 tumor between 1999 and 2007 with a minimum 5-year followup, an actual followup of 10 years or greater was available in 45 and 254 after laparoscopic and open partial nephrectomy, respectively. Results Median followup after laparoscopic and open surgery was 6.6 and 7.8 years, respectively. At 10 years the overall survival rate was 77.2%. The metastasis-free survival rate was 95.2% and 90.0% after partial nephrectomy for clinical T1a and T1b renal cell carcinoma, respectively (p <0.0001). Baseline differences between patients treated with laparoscopic and open partial nephrectomy accounted for most observed differences between the cohorts. The median glomerular filtration rate decrease was 16.9% after the laparoscopic approach and 14.1% after the open approach (p = 0.5). On multivariable analysis predictors of all cause mortality included advancing age (HR 1.52/10 years, p <0.0001), comorbidity (HR 1.33/1 U, p <0.0001), absolute indication (HR 2.25, p = 0.003) and predicted recurrence-free survival (HR 1.58/10% increased risk, p = 0.004) but not laparoscopic vs open operative approach (p = 0.13). Similarly, predictors of metastasis included absolute indication (HR 4.35, p <0.0001) and predicted recurrence-free survival (HR 2.67, p <0.0001) but not operative approach (p = 0.42). Conclusions The 10-year outcomes of laparoscopic nephrectomy and open partial nephrectomy are excellent in carefully selected patients with limited risk of recurrence for cT1 renal cortical tumors. Overall survival at 10 years is mediated by patient factors such as age, comorbidity and operative indication, and by cancer factors such as predicted recurrence-free survival but not by the choice of operative technique, which depends on surgeon preference and experience.
We explore and validate objective surgeon performance metrics using a novel recorder (“dVLogger”) to directly capture surgeon manipulations on the da Vinci® Surgical System. We present the initial ...construct and concurrent validation study of objective metrics during preselected steps of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.
Kinematic and events data were recorded for expert (100 or more cases) and novice (less than 100 cases) surgeons performing bladder mobilization, seminal vesicle dissection, anterior vesicourethral anastomosis and right pelvic lymphadenectomy. Expert/novice metrics were compared using mixed effect statistical modeling (construct validation). Expert reviewers blindly rated seminal vesicle dissection and anterior vesicourethral anastomosis using GEARS (Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills). Intraclass correlation measured inter-rater variability. Objective metrics were correlated to corresponding GEARS metrics using Spearman’s test (concurrent validation).
The performance of 10 experts (mean 810 cases, range 100 to 2,000) and 10 novices (mean 35 cases, range 5 to 80) was evaluated in 100 robot-assisted radical prostatectomy cases. For construct validation the experts completed operative steps faster (p <0.001) with less instrument travel distance (p <0.01), less aggregate instrument idle time (p <0.001), shorter camera path length (p <0.001) and more frequent camera movements (p <0.03). Experts had a greater ratio of dominant-to-nondominant instrument path distance for all steps (p <0.04) except anterior vesicourethral anastomosis. For concurrent validation the median experience of 3 expert reviewers was 300 cases (range 200 to 500). Intraclass correlation among reviewers was 0.6-0.7. For anterior vesicourethral anastomosis and seminal vesicle dissection, kinematic metrics had low associations with GEARS metrics.
Objective metrics revealed experts to be more efficient and directed during preselected steps of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Objective metrics had limited associations to GEARS. These findings lay the foundation for developing standardized metrics for surgeon training and assessment.
Utilization of robotic partial nephrectomy has increased significantly. We report a literature wide systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis to critically evaluate the impact of surgical ...factors on the operative, perioperative, functional, oncologic and survival outcomes in patients undergoing robotic partial nephrectomy.
All English language publications on robotic partial nephrectomy comparing various surgical approaches were evaluated. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses) statement and AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) guidelines to evaluate PubMed®, Scopus® and Web of Science™ databases (January 1, 2000 to October 31, 2016, updated June 2017). Weighted mean difference and odds ratio were used to compare continuous and dichotomous variables, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were performed as needed. To condense the sheer volume of analyses, for the first time data are presented using novel summary forest plots. The study was registered at PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, ID CRD42017062712).
Our meta-analysis included 20,282 patients. When open partial nephrectomy was compared to robotic partial nephrectomy, the latter was superior for blood loss (weighted mean difference 85.01, p <0.00001), transfusions (OR 1.81, p <0.001), complications (OR 1.87, p <0.00001), hospital stay (weighted mean difference 2.26, p = 0.001), readmissions (OR 2.58, p = 0.005), percentage reduction of latest estimated glomerular filtration rate (weighted mean difference 0.37, p = 0.04), overall mortality (OR 4.45, p <0.0001) and recurrence rate (OR 5.14, p <0.00001). Sensitivity analyses adjusting for baseline disparities revealed similar findings. When robotic partial nephrectomy was compared to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, the former was superior for ischemia time (weighted mean difference 4.21, p <0.0001), conversion rate (OR 2.61, p = 0.002), intraoperative (OR 2.05, p >0.0001) and postoperative complications (OR 1.27, p = 0.0003), positive margins (OR 2.01, p <0.0001), percentage decrease of latest estimated glomerular filtration rate (weighted mean difference -1.97, p = 0.02) and overall mortality (OR 2.98, p = 0.04). Hilar control techniques, selective and unclamped, are effective alternatives to clamped robotic partial nephrectomy. An important limitation is the overall suboptimal level of evidence of publications in the field of robotic partial nephrectomy. No level I prospective randomized data are available. Oxford level of evidence was level II, III and IV in 5%, 74% and 21% of publications, respectively. No study has indexed functional outcomes against volume of parenchyma preserved.
Based on the contemporary literature, our comprehensive meta-analysis indicates that robotic partial nephrectomy delivers mostly superior, and at a minimum equivalent, outcomes compared to open and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Robotics has now matured into an excellent approach for performing partial nephrectomy for renal masses.
Currently in patients with bladder cancer, various clinical evaluations (imaging, operative findings at transurethral resection and radical cystectomy, pathology) are collectively used to determine ...disease status and prognosis, and recommend neoadjuvant, definitive and adjuvant treatments. We analyze the predictive power of these measurements in forecasting two key long-term outcomes following radical cystectomy, i.e., cancer recurrence and survival. Information theory and machine learning algorithms are employed to create predictive models using a large prospective, continuously collected, temporally resolved, primary bladder cancer dataset comprised of 3503 patients (1971-2016). Patient recurrence and survival one, three, and five years after cystectomy can be predicted with greater than 70% sensitivity and specificity. Such predictions may inform patient monitoring schedules and post-cystectomy treatments. The machine learning models provide a benchmark for predicting oncologic outcomes in patients undergoing radical cystectomy and highlight opportunities for improving care using optimal preoperative and operative data collection.
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