(UroToday.com) The 2022 39th World Congress of Endourology and Uro-Technology Annual Meeting included a presentation featuring the work of Dr. Jeremy Saad and colleagues regarding their study on the novel use of Thulium Laser for resection of the distal ureter and bladder cuff during nephroureterectomy. Dr. Saad started his presentation by restating the ongoing debate regarding the optimal method of bladder cuff resection and thereafter, introduced their novel use of Thulium laser for this purpose during nephroureterectomy.
In their retrospective single surgeon review, the patients who underwent nephroureterectomy from March 2010 to August 2019 were included. In this population of 24 patients which included 15 males and 9 females with an average age of 72.88 years (Table 1.), a two-micron Thulium laser was introduced via a 26 Fr resectoscope, and excision was made following which the patients either underwent laparoscopic or robotic nephroureterectomy.
While Dr. Saad reported one case of recurrence in this patient population, he stated that the overall perioperative outcome of this procedure is similar to other techniques such as the use of Collin’s knife. Additionally, Dr. Saad reported superior manual control when using the Thulium laser as opposed to Collin’s knife when performing this procedure.
Dr. Saad concluded his presentation on the use of Thulium Laser for resection of the distal ureter and bladder cuff during nephroureterectomy by making the following concluding comments:
- The technique of using Thulium laser for resection of the distal ureter and bladder cuff during nephroureterectomy is a viable alternative surgical technique in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma.
- The novel use of Thulium laser for resection of the distal ureter and bladder cuff during nephroureterectomy results in similar perioperative and oncological outcomes when compared to alternative techniques.
Presented by: Jeremy Saad, BSc, MD, Canberra Hospital
Written by: Sina Soltanzadeh Zarandi, B.S., University of California Irvine, @sszarandi on Twitter during the 39th World Congress of Endo urology and Uro-Technology (WCET), Oct 1 - 4, 2022, San Diego, California.