Comparison of Perioperative Outcomes Between Retroperitoneal Single-Port and Multiport Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomies

Objective: To report early institutional experience with the single-port robotic platform and compare perioperative outcomes between single-port robot-assisted partial nephrectomies (SP-RAPN) and multiport robot-assisted partial nephrectomies (MP-RAPN) when utilizing a retroperitoneal approach. Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent SP-RAPN or MP-RAPN at our institution between November 1, 2013 and May 30, 2021 was performed. Surgical platforms were compared through univariate analysis using the Kruskal–Wallis test for continuous variables and χ2 test for categorical variables. Results: A total of 20 SP-RAPN and 42 MP-RAPN were performed utilizing a retroperitoneal approach. Patients who underwent SP-RAPN were more likely to have a lower radius, endophytic/exophytic, nearness, anterior/posterior, location score (4 vs 6; p = 0.0084) and their masses tended to be more exophytic, although this was not statistically significant (p = 0.0535). Patients undergoing SP-RAPN had a shorter postoperative length of hospital stay (1 vs 2 days; p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in operative time, estimated blood loss, ischemia time, positive margin rate, malignant histology, postoperative complication rate, or Clavien–Dindo complication grade. Conclusion: Retroperitoneal SP-RAPN appear to be safe without compromising perioperative outcomes when compared with MP-RAPN for low-complexity renal masses. Further studies are recommended to assess the role of the SP for higher-complexity renal masses and to characterize variables that influence the observed difference in length of hospital stay.