Quality of life after cystectomy and urinary diversion: an evidence based analysis.

Purpose: We critically examined the evidence supporting the widely accepted notion that patients undergoing continent urinary tract reconstruction after cystectomy experience superior quality of life outcomes than patients receiving a conduit.

Materials And Methods: Based on a comprehensive MEDLINE literature search we retrieved and evaluated all full-length articles published in the English, French, German, Italian and Spanish languages comparing conduit diversion with continent cutaneous diversion and/or orthotopic bladder substitution with respect to quality of life or similar concepts. All studies were rated according to the International Consultation on Urological Diseases modification of Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine levels of evidence.