Laparoscopic resection of ancient schwannoma embedded in the psoas muscle.

Schwannoma is a tumor originating from the Schwann cell of the peripheral nerve sheath. The diagnosis of schwannoma is based on histologic analysis of surgically excised sample. Retroperitoneal ancient schwannoma, a variant of schwannoma, is rarely observed in clinical practice.

Operative outcomes of robotic partial nephrectomy: a comparison with conventional laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

Purpose: To determine the feasibility and safety of robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN), we compared the operative outcomes of patients who had undergone RPN with those of patients who had undergone laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN).

Materials And Methods: Between February 2009 and June 2010, 13 patients underwent transperitoneal RPN (group 1) and 14 patients underwent transperitoneal LPN (group 2) by a single surgeon. The operative outcomes of the 2 groups were compared by using Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests.