Radical retroperitoneal lymph node dissection: how effective in removal of all retroperitoneal nodes?

Several large series have supported the success of retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy as a primary therapeutic modality in the management of non-seminomatous germ cell testicular neoplasms. In 1963 Tavel and associates reported on the inadequacy of this procedure in the complete extirpation of all the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Our investigation was undertaken to test their conclusions, the sole difference in technique being that the infrarenal lumbar vessels were ligated and divided during the lymph node dissection. Results in 12 cadavers revealed that all retroperitoneal nodal tissue could be excised with the modified technique. These findings were further verified by the absence of any residual retroperitoneal lymph nodes in 3 patients who died of metastatic embryonal cell carcinoma. The extirpative efficacy of this procedure having been established, any major deleterious effects of lumbar ligation, primarily spinal cord ischemia, must be considered. Based on our experience and that of others it may be concluded that this complication represents a minimal risk that should not discourage use of this effective therapeutic procedure.