Post-surgical complications in patients with bladder cancer treated with cystectomy: Differences between open and laparoscopic approach.

Introduction: Minimally invasive surgery regarding cystectomy has not had the same development as other urological surgeries. This could be due to the lack of published studies defining the advantages of this approach versus open surgery.

Objectives: The main objective of this study is to establish the role of minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic radical cystectomy, versus open surgery by analyzing their perioperative complications.

Material And Method: Retrospective cohort analysis of perioperative complications of 2homogeneous series of cystectomies: laparoscopic (n = 196) versus open (n = 197). Identification of independent predictors of perioperative complications by multivariate analysis.

Results: In the comparative analysis between laparoscopic cystectomies and open cystectomies we observed a lower rate of perioperative blood transfusion (P < 0.0001), a lower rate of global postoperative complications (P < 0.0001) and a lower rate of serious complications (Clavien > 3; P < 0.001) in the LRC group. There was also a lower mortality rate in the laparoscopic series compared to open ones (P < 0.0001). Surgical approach and surgical time (P < 0.001) were identified as independent predictors of complications.

Conclusions: We have identified the laparoscopic approach as a complication shield for radical cystectomy. The open approach almost triples the risk of complications.