Approaching the optimal transurethral resection of a bladder tumor

A complete transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TURBT) is essential for adequately diagnosing, staging, and treating bladder cancer. A TURBT is deceptively difficult and is a highly underappreciated procedure. An incomplete resection is the major reason for the high incidence of recurrence following initial transurethral resection and thus to the suboptimal care of our patients. Our objective was to review the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative considerations for performing an optimal TURBT. The European Association of Urology, Society of International Urology, and The American Urological Association guidelines emphasize a complete resection of all visible tumor during a TURBT. This review will emphasize the various techniques and treatments, including photodynamic cystoscopy, intravesical chemotherapy, and a perioperative checklist, that can be used to help to enable a complete resection and reduce the recurrence rate. A Medline/PubMed search was completed for original and review articles related to transurethral resection and the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The major findings were analyzed and are presented from large prospective, retrospective, and review studies.