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Background: Minimally invasive surgery could improve cosmetic outcomes and reduce the risks of surgical injury with less postoperative pain and a quicker patient's discharge. Recently, transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) has been introduced in urogynecology with exciting results. Evidence Acquisition: After PROSPERO registration (n°CRD42023406815), we performed a comprehensive literature search on Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL, including peer-reviewed studies evaluating transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. No limits on time or type of study were applied. Evidence synthesis: Overall, 12 manuscripts were included in the analysis. Seven studies evaluated uterosacral ligament suspension, four studies evaluated sacral colpopexy, three evaluated sacrospinous ligament suspension, and one study evaluated lateral suspension. Overall success rates were high (>90%); however, definitions of success were heterogeneous. In terms of complication, most of the studies reported low-grade complications (Clavien–Dindo I and II); only two patients needed mesh removal because of mesh exposure. The risk of bias of the trials was rated in the medium to high-risk category. Conclusions: The present review highlights important initial results for vNOTES. Future randomized clinical trials are needed to better define its role in the management of urogynecological procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The choice between a transrectal or a transperineal approach for MRI-fusion-targeted prostate biopsy is still the subject of debate within the urologic community and across international Guidelines. Specifically, the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines recommend abandoning TRPB in favor of TPPB, due to lower rates of infection and sepsis. In contrast, the American Urological Association (AUA) recommends either approach, citing the absence of prospective RCTs assessing infectious risk. In this scenario, transparent reporting of the morbidity of the transrectal prostate biopsy is crucial to inform patients during shared decision-making and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different biopsy approaches from clinical and economic standpoints. Despite transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB) being still widespread globally, the EAU Guidelines strongly recommend the transperineal approach, due to the reported lower infectious risk. Our study aims to evaluate the impact of a standardized clinical pathway for TRPB on post-operative complications. We prospectively collected data from all patients undergoing mpMRI-targeted TRPB at our Academic Centre from January 2020 to December 2022. All patients followed a standardized, structured multistep pathway. Post-procedural complications were collected and classified according to the Clavien–Dindo (CD) Classification. Among 458 patients, post-procedural adverse events were reported by 203 (44.3%), of which 161 (35.2%) experienced CD grade 1 complications (hematuria [124, 27.1%], hematochezia [22, 4.8%], hematospermia [14, 3.1%], or a combination [20, 4.4%]), and 45 (9.0%) reported CD grade 2 complications (acute urinary retention or hematuria needing catheterization, as well as urinary tract infections, of which 2 cases required hospitalization). No major complications, including sepsis, were observed. At uni- and multivariable analysis, age > 70 years and BMI > 25 kg/ m2 for patients were identified as predictors of post-operative complications. The results of our study confirm that TRPB is a safe and cost-effective procedure with a low risk of severe adverse events in experienced hands and following a standardized pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of our study is to evaluate the prevalence and predictive factors of short- (30 d) and mid-term continence in a contemporary cohort of patients treated with robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) without any posterior or anterior reconstruction at our referral academic center. Methods: Data from patients undergoing RALP between January 2017 and March 2021 were prospectively collected. RALP was performed by three highly experienced surgeons following the principles of the Montsouris technique, with a bladder-neck-sparing intent and maximal preservation of the membranous urethra (if oncologically safe) without any anterior/posterior reconstruction. (Self-assessed urinary incontinence (UI) was defined as the need of one or more pads per die (excluding the need for a safety pad/die. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the independent predictors of early incontinence among routinely collected patient- and tumor-related variables). Results: A total of 925 patients were included; of these, 353 underwent RALP (38.2%) without nerve-sparing intent. The median patient age and BMI were 68 years (IQR 63–72) and 26 (IQR 24.0–28.0), respectively. Overall, 159 patients (17.2%) reported early (30 d) incontinence. In multivariable analysis adjusting for patient- and tumor-related features, a non-nerve-sparing procedure (OR: 1.57 [95% CI: 1.03–2.59], p = 0.035) was independently associated with the risk of urinary incontinence in the short-term period, while the absence of cardiovascular diseases before surgery (OR: 0.46 [95% CI: 0.320.67], p ≤ 0.01) was a protective factor for this outcome. At a median follow-up of 17 months (IQR 10–24), 94.5% of patients reported to be continent. Conclusions: In experienced hands, most patients fully recover urinary continence after RALP at mid-term follow-up. On the contrary, the proportion of patients who reported early incontinence in our series was modest but not negligible. The implementation of surgical techniques advocating anterior and/or posterior fascial reconstruction might improve the early continence rate in candidates for RALP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a case of retroperitoneal fibrosis in a 33-year-old female patient. The patient initially received systemic therapy but did not benefit from it. A retroperitoneal biopsy revealed localized Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), and the decision was made to proceed with robot-assisted ureterolysis. The surgical procedure involved isolating and freeing the ureter from the fibrous reaction, and a robotic omentoplasty was performed. The patient had a successful recovery with no surgical-related complications. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The role of redo partial nephrectomy (PN) for recurrent renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is still overlooked., Objective: To report our experience of salvage PN for local recurrence after previous nephron-sparing surgery (NSS)., Design Setting and Participants: We prospectively gathered data from patients treated with robotic redo PN for locally recurrent RCC after previous NSS from January 2017 to January 2023. The type of surgical resection technique was assigned to the pathologic specimen according to the surface-intermediate-base (SIB) score., Surgical Procedure: Redo PN was performed by using the Si Da Vinci robotic platform., Measurements: Operative time, warm ischemia time, and intra- and postoperative complications were recorded. The severity of postoperative complications and tumor stage were evaluated., Results and Limitations: Overall, 26 patients entered the study. The median clinical diameter was 3.5 (interquartile range [IQR] 2.2-4.9) cm and the median Preoperative Aspects and Dimensions Used for an Anatomical (PADUA) score was 8 (IQR 7-9). In 14 (53.8%) cases, recurrence was at the level of previous tumor resection bed. The median operative time was 177 (IQR 148-200) min, and hilar clamping was performed in 14 (53.8%) cases with a median warm ischemia time of 16 (14.5-22) min. Pure enucleation (SIB score 0-1), hybrid enucleation (SIB score 2), and pure enucleoresection (SIB score 3) were recorded in 13 (50%), eight (30.8%), and five (19.2%) cases, respectively. The totality of recurrent RCC far from previous tumor resection bed received a SIB score of 0-1, while in 57.1% and 35.8% of recurrent RCC on previous tumor resection a hybrid enucleation and a pure enucleoresection were performed, respectively. At a median follow-up of 37 (IQR 16-45) mo, five (19%) patients experienced disease recurrence, being local and systemic in three (11.5%) and two (7.7%) patients, respectively., Conclusions: Our study highlights the feasibility and safety of redo PN for the treatment of locally recurrent RCCs after NSS, either on previous tumor resection bed or elsewhere in the kidney., Patient Summary: Robotic redo partial nephrectomy is a challenging procedure. The surgeon needs to tailor the surgical strategy and tumor resection technique case by case, given the heterogeneity of clinical scenarios and the need to achieve maximal functional preservation while ensuring oncologic efficacy., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Partial nephrectomy (PN) may be recommended for selected patients with advanced-stage (>cT2) renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with the aim of avoiding dialysis and chronic kidney disease-related comorbidities. The spread of robotic surgery has led to expansion of PN indications to more challenging scenarios and even frontier surgeries, including advanced-stage RCC. Here we describe the management of a patient with a solitary kidney diagnosed with multiple cT3a (renal vein thrombus) RCC who was treated using a conservative robotic approach. The most crucial surgical considerations for this procedure were: (1) tailored planning of the surgical approach using three-dimensional reconstruction software; (2) accurate boundary delineation for the tumors and thrombus; (3) avoiding unnecessary warm ischemia time; (4) performing an anatomical excision to follow eventual tumor bulging; and (5) en bloc removal of the main lesion and its thrombus. No perioperative complications were recorded. Histopathology revealed clear cell RCC for all four lesions with nucleolar grade 3 and negative surgical margins. At 12-mo follow-up the patient was disease-free. When performed by an experienced surgeon, PN plus venous thrombus excision for imperative cases with cT3 RCC may represent a valid treatment option with valuable oncological and functional outcomes., Patient Summary: We describe the case of patient who had a single kidney with multiple kidney tumors and tumor extension into a blood vessel. The patient was treated with robot-assisted removal of the tumors, sparing as much kidney tissue as possible. This technique was found to be safe and effective, with no complications and good intermediate-term results., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Kidney transplantation (KT) is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease, providing a better survival rate and quality of life compared to dialysis. Despite the progress in the medical management of KT patients, from a purely surgical standpoint, KT has resisted innovations during the last 50 years. Recently, robot-assisted KT (RAKT) has been proposed as an alternative approach to open surgery, especially due to its potential benefits for fragile and immunocompromised recipients. It was not until 2014 that the role of RAKT has found value thanks to the pioneering Vattikuti Urology Institute-Medanta collaboration that conceptualized and developed a new surgical technique for RAKT following the Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term follow-up recommendations for introducing surgical innovations into real-life practice. During the last years, mirroring the Vattikuti-Medanta technique, several centers developed RAKT program worldwide, providing strong evidence about the safety and the feasibility of this procedure. However, the majority of RAKT are still performed in the living donor setting, as an "eligible" procedure, while only a few centers have realized KT through a robotic approach in the challenging scenario of cadaver donation. In addition, despite the spread of minimally-invasive (predominantly robotic) surgery worldwide, many KTs are still performed in an open fashion. Regardless of the type of incision employed by surgeons, open KT may lead to non-negligible risks of wound complications, especially among obese patients. Particularly, the assessment for KT should consider not only the added surgical technical challenges but also the higher risk of postoperative complications. In this context, robotic surgery could offer several benefits, including providing a better exposure of the surgical field and better instrument maneuverability, as well as the possibility to integrate other technological nuances, such as the use of intraoperative fluorescence vascular imaging with indocyanine green to assess the ureteral vascularization before the uretero-vesical anastomosis. Therefore, our review aims to report the more significant experiences regarding RAKT, focusing on the results and future perspectives., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.