Urology Research & Practice
UROONCOLOGY - Review

Robot-Assisted Urological Oncology Procedures, Outcomes, and Safety in Frail Patients: A Narrative Review of Available Studies

1.

Department of Urology, Metropolitan General, Athens, Greece

2.

Department of Urology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen Urology Unit, NHS Grampian, United Kingdom

3.

Department of Urology, University of Athens, Sismanogleio General Hospital, Athens, Greece

Urol Res Pract 2024; 50: 36-41
DOI: 10.5152/tud.2024.23198
Read: 648 Downloads: 292 Published: 31 January 2024

Abstract: In this study, we assess the impact of frailty on the success rate and risk of complications of robot-assisted urological procedures and introduce effective preoperative screening tools to evaluate frail patients’ fitness to tolerate robot-assisted urological surgery. We performed a search of electronic databases for available studies, published up to August 2023, investigating the outcomes of robot-assisted urological oncology procedures and their safety in frail patients. Sixteen studies were ultimately selected, investigating the implications of frailty in robot-assisted radical cystectomy, robotassisted partial nephrectomy, and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. All the studies used the Clavien–Dindo classification of complications with serious complications considered as Clavien–Dindo ≥3. Frail patients significantly benefit from robot-assisted urological procedures in comparison to open surgery, with lower rates of blood transfusion and a shorter length of stay. However, they also have a higher risk of postoperative complications than non-frail patients, as well as increased rates of conversion to open, total hospital costs, and in-hospital mortality after robot-assisted procedures. Robot-assisted urological procedures can improve the postoperative recovery of frail patients in comparison to open surgery. Reliable frailty indexes such as the Johns Hopkins indicator and simplified frailty index, as well as the Geriatric 8 screening tool, should be routinely used in the preoperative assessment of frail patients to optimize surgical decision-making.

Cite this article as: Kostakopoulos N, Bellos T, Malovrouvas E, Katsimperis S, Kostakopoulos A. Robot-assisted urological oncology procedures outcomes and safety in frail patients. A narrative review of available studies. Urol Res Pract. 2024;50(1):36-41.

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