Robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection: A systematic review and meta-analysis of perioperative outcomes.

Abstract

420 Background: Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) forms an integral part of the management of testis cancer. Robotic RPLND (R-RPLND) is a minimally invasive treatment option for this disease. This systematic review assessed the safety and feasibility of R-RPLND and compared the perioperative outcomes of R-RPLND with open RPLND (O-RPLND). Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases were searched for studies reporting perioperative outcomes of primary and post-chemotherapy R-RPLND and studies comparing R-RPLND with O-RPLND. Results: The search yielded 42 articles describing R-RPLND, including five comparative studies. The systematic review included 4,224 patients (single-arm studies, n=461; comparative studies, n=3,763). Of 461 patients in the single-arm studies, 271 underwent primary R-RPLND and 190 underwent post-chemotherapy R-RPLND. For primary R-RPLND, the operative time ranged from 175-540 minutes and the major complication rate was 3.1%. For post-chemotherapy R-RPLND, the operative time ranged from 134-550 min and the major complication rate was 8.4%. The conversion rate to open surgery was 2.2% in primary R-RPLND and 8.9% in post-chemotherapy R-RPLND. In comparison with O-RPLND, R-RPLND was associated with a lower transfusion rate (14.5% vs 0.9%, p=0.0001) and a lower complication rate (18.5% vs 7.8%, p=0.002; Table). Conclusions: R-RPLND has acceptable perioperative outcomes in both the primary and post-chemotherapy settings but a notable rate of conversion to open surgery in the post-chemotherapy setting. Compared with O-RPLND, R-RPLND is associated with a lower transfusion rate and fewer overall complications. Given the potential impact of selection bias, the optimal patient selection criteria for R-RPLND remain to be elucidated. [Table: see text]