Single-Port Extra- and Transperitoneal Approach for Paraaortic Lymphadenectomy in Gynecologic Cancers: A Propensity-Adjusted Analysis

Abstract

Endoscopic paraaortic lymphadenectomy (PALN), an important step in the management of gynecologic cancers, is associated with low morbidity. However, some concerns exist about the completeness of PALN according to the route (transperitoneal vs. single-port extraperitoneal). This study retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who had undergone an endoscopic PALN for a gynecologic cancer from May 2010 to August 2014 at the authors' center. The findings showed that 44 patients had a single-port extraperitoneal PALN and 56 had a transperitoneal PALN. The factors independently related to technical performances were tested with a multivariate model adjusted for a propensity score. A median of 16 lymph nodes were removed by the transperitoneal route and 12 by the extraperitoneal route (p = 0.04). No difference in the number of lymph nodes removed was observed after adjustment for the propensity score of patients who underwent the extraperitoneal approach (p = 0.9). The transperitoneal route was associated with more lymphocysts (20 vs. 2% for the extraperitoneal approach) (p = 0.008). The success rate for the extraperitoneal PALN was 91% (n = 40), with the three remaining patients requiring conversion to the transperitoneal route due to a peritoneal breach. This propensity-score-adjusted study supports the conclusion that the efficacy of the single-port extraperitoneal route is similar to that of the transperitoneal route for PALN.