Robot Assisted Radical Prostatectomy in Kidney Transplant Recipients. Our Clinical Experience and a Systematic Review

Radical prostatectomy is a more skillful procedure in kidney graft recipients. Robotic surgery can provide a useful minimally invasive tool.

The study aims to evaluate the robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) in kidney transplant recipients, describing intra/postoperative complications, renal and oncological outcomes.

This is a retrospective study conducted in a single institution of 84 RALP. Four of them were kidney transplant recipients. Side of the renal graft, clinical stage, intra/postoperative events, operating time, creatinine levels before/after intervention and oncologic follow-up were recorded. A systematic review of the literature was performed.

Aged 61.25 ± 7.76 years, interval between renal transplantation and RALP: 10 ± 3.16 years. Mean prostate specific antigen: 7.1 ± 2.8 ng/ml, 2 patients were cT1c and 2 cT2a. Preoperative biopsies: Gleason score 3 + 3 in 3 patients, 3 + 4 in 1 patient. Charlson comorbidity index mean was 4.82 ± 0.82. No intra/postoperative events were reported. Mean operating time: 196 ± 20.8 min. Positive surgical margins: 2/4 patients. Pathological analysis: Gleason 3 + 4 in 2 patients and Gleason 3 + 3 in the others 2. A patient developed a bladder neck sclerosis. No differences between pre/postoperative creatinine. Three patients are free of biochemical recurrence and 1 patient required adjuvant radiotherapy.

RALP in renal transplant recipients is a safe and feasible technique for localized prostate cancer. No difference in oncological outcomes and no impairments on renal function were found.