Laparoendoscopic single‐site (LESS) robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) reduces postoperative wound pain without a rise in complication rates

Objective To compare long‐term functional outcomes and pain scale scores of patients who underwent laparoendoscopic single‐site (LESS)‐ robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) to those who underwent conventional RAPN (C‐RAPN), as LESS surgery is increasingly being adopted by urologists worldwide to reduce morbidities and scarring associated with surgical interventions. Patients and Methods In all, 167 consecutive patients who had RAPN were identified from our Institutional Review Board‐approved computerised database between October 2006 to July 2012. Patients were stratified into two groups: 80 patients who underwent C‐RAPN and 79 who underwent LESS‐RAPN. Results The LESS‐RAPN group had a longer warm ischaemia time [WIT, mean (sd) 26.5 (10.5) vs 19.8 (13.1) min; P = 0.001] and total operation time [TOT, mean (sd) 210.3 (83.4) vs 183.1 (76.1) min; P = 0.033] when compared with the C‐RAPN group. While, the LESS‐RAPN group and C‐RAPN group were not significantly different for the number of patients with negative surgical margins [77 (96.2%) vs 73 (91.4%); P = 0.194), absolute change in postoperative renal function [mean (sd) −6.5 (16.7)% vs −7.6 (16.7)%; P = 0.738) and postoperative complications rate [12 (15.0%) vs 10 (12.6%); P = 0.279). Furthermore, the LESS‐RAPN group had lower visual analogue pain scale (VAPS) scores at discharge [mean (sd) 2.1 (1.3) vs 1.7 (1.0); P = 0.048]. Conclusions Despite a significantly longer WIT and TOT, the functional outcomes of LESS‐RAPN were comparable to those of C‐RAPN for tumours of similar mean sizes and complexities, without any detriments in oncological and complications outcomes. On discharge, patients who underwent LESS‐RAPN also reported lower pain levels as one of the advantages of minimally invasive surgery. With the development of instrumentation specifically designed for single‐site surgery, LESS could be more easily conducted in patients who are interested in improved quality of life outcomes.