High-risk laparoscopic urologic surgery

Currently, the majority of operations in the urologic field can be performed laparoscopically. Even in experienced hands, some operations are considered of increased risk either because of increased surgical difficulty of the specific case or because the patient per se is at risk due to associated comorbidities. Scope of this review is to present the existent experience regarding difficult laparoscopic urologic cases, along with points of technique, the product of the experience collected by performing such difficult laparoscopic cases. Knowledge of anticipated difficulties allows both patients and their surgeons to be better prepared. Patients have their expectations from laparoscopy realistically set, whereas urologists, especially those new to laparoscopy, realize their abilities and properly set their indications to achieve the best for their patients.