The Evolution of Retzius-Sparing Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy: An Idea, Development, Evolution, Assessment, and Long-Term Study Perspective

PURPOSE: The Retzius-sparing (RS) approach represents an important surgical innovation in how robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) is performed.The aim of this study was to examine to what extent its development has followed the Idea, Development, Evolution, Assessment and Long-term study (IDEAL) recommendations.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature search for studies up to the 18th of March 2021. Abstracted data-points included authorship, year of publication, study design, reported endpoints, and length-of follow-up. We mapped each study to the five IDEAL stages of surgical innovation using published criteria.

RESULTS: Of 415 references, 118 were included in our analysis. Five academic centers authored over 50% of all study reports, with the groups from Seoul (24; 20.3%), Milan (15; 12.7%) and Ninjang (10; 8.5%) being the main contributors. Approximately 40% of studies (50/118) were reported as full-text publications. Most of the reports mapped to retrospective studies (97/118; 82.2%) with approximately one-third (31/97; 32.0%) reporting the use of prospectively collected data. Cumulatively, 17,974 RS-RALP were reported on. Of those, 13,929 were unique cases. Approximately 23% of cases were reported in multiple publications (4,045/17,974). We mapped two, 12, and three studies to the Idea, Assessment and Long-term study stages, respectively, and zero to the Development and Evaluation stages.

CONCLUSIONS: Few reported studies followed the IDEAL stages for surgical innovation; none addressed the stages of Development and Evaluation. Future systematic, prospectively planned assessments would be helpful to refine the approach and address issues related to the surgical learning curve.