Current evidence between hospital volume and perioperative outcome: Prospective assessment of robotic radical prostatectomy safety profile in a regional center of medium annual caseload

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to present the safety profile of robotic radical prostatectomy (RARP) performed in a single center of medium surgical volume since its introduction and identify predictors of postoperative complications. Methods: We prospectively collected clinical data from 317 consecutive patients undergoing RARP between August 2011 and November 2019 in a medium-volume center. Surgical procedures were performed by a single experienced surgeon. Complications were collected according to the Martin criteria for reporting and the Clavien-Dindo classification for rating. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were analyzed and compared with available literature. Results: A total of 102 complications were observed in 96 (30.3%) patients and were minor in 84.4% of cases (Clavien grade 1 and 2). Transfusion rate was 1.3%. Complications of grade 4b or 5 did not occur. The most frequent complications were urinary retention (7.3%) and anastomotic leak (5.9%). At multivariate analysis, the nerve-sparing technique was an independent predictor of complications (odds ratio [OR] 0.55; p=0.02). Conclusions: The study shows that a high safety profile may be achieved in a medium-volume hospital. The nerve-sparing technique was a predictor of complications. Further studies are needed to define the current relationship between surgical volume and perioperative outcome for RARP.