Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) compared to open radical cystectomy (ORC) or RARC with extracorporeal urinary diversion (ECUD) would result in a decreased rate of surgical site complications. RARC has been shown to be non-inferior to ORC. Both RARC and ORC are complicated by a high rate of perioperative morbidity, including wound-related complications, which may be decreased by a robotic approach with intracorporeal diversion. METHODS: A retrospective review of our bladder cancer database for patients undergoing radical cystectomy from 2013-2021. Patients were stratified by surgical technique as RARC with ICUD vs ORC vs RARC with ECUD. Surgical site complications were measured at both 30- and 90-day intervals. RESULTS: Of the 269 patients, 127 (47.2%) had RARC with ICUD, 118 (43.7%) had ORC, and 24 (8.9%) had RARC with ECUD (mean ages 71.0, 69.5, and 67.5, respectively). A comparison of the 3 groups demonstrated statistical significance at both the 30-day (P <.001) and 90-day (P <.001) timeframes for total surgical site complications, with RARC with ICUD having the fewest amount of patients experiencing a surgical site complication (0.8%) followed by ORC (25.4%) and RARC with ECUD (29.2%). CONCLUSION: Overall, we observed lower surgical site complication rates among patients undergoing RARC with ICUD compared to patients who underwent ORC or RARC with ECUD. This study suggests that decreased surgical site complications may be one benefit of the minimally invasive approach, particularly in patients at high risk for surgical site complications after radical cystectomy.