Robot-assisted laparoscopic excision of a retroperitoneal paracaval tumor

During the past few years, robotic surgical systems have been rapidly developed. The progress and advantages of these systems include three-dimensional vision and enhanced ergonomics. These advantages have helped a new generation of minimally invasive surgery to evolve. The da Vinci Surgical System seems to greatly resolve problems (e.g., wide exposure and retraction of peritoneal organs) that are confronted by traditional laparoscopic surgeries for retroperitoneal tumors that are near great vessels. There have been few reported cases concerning laparoscopic excision of retroperitoneal tumors situated between the inferior vena cava, the right renal vessel, and the kidney. We report the use of a robotic surgical system for this type of treatment. A 54-year-old female patient had a hypoechoic lesion near the inferior vena cava and superior to the right renal vessels. It was incidentally found by ultrasound during a health check-up examination. The computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a heterogeneous contrast-enhanced retroperitoneal mass approximately 4.4 cm medial to the right kidney with the inferior vena cava slightly deviated to the left. Robot-assisted laparoscopic excision of the retroperitoneal tumor was performed on October 15, 2010 with an operation time of 135 minutes and an estimated blood loss of less than 30 mL. The J-Vac drainage tube was removed on postoperative Day 3, and the patient was discharged in a stable condition the following day. The pathology of the tumor was retroperitoneal schwannoma. A re-evaluation was arranged postoperatively for the 15-month ambulatory visit. No local recurrence or distal metastasis was present.