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Face, content, and construct validity were demonstrated in the use of a silicone renal tumor model in a cohort of surgeons of different training levels. Expert participants deemed the model useful and realistic. Surgeons of higher training levels performed better than less experienced surgeons in various study metrics, and improvements within individuals were observed over sequential trials. Future studies should aim to assess model predictive validity, namely, the association between model performance improvements and improvements in live surgery.

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We sought to examine the impact of baseline patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes on postoperative hospital length of stay (LOS), following the robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients receiving RARP at our institution by two surgeons between January 2012 and March 2014 (n = 274). Baseline patient characteristics were collected, including Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Discharge criteria were identical for all patients and included: return of bowel function, pain controlled with oral medications, and ambulation without assistance. LOS was calculated as the number of midnights spent in the hospital following surgery. Postoperative hospital LOS was equal to 1 day for 225 patients and >1 day for 49 patients. Baseline patient and tumor characteristics, including age, race, body-mass index (BMI), pathologic stage, and Gleason score, were not significantly different. Mean operative time was shorter for patients with LOS > 1 day (155 vs. 173 min, p < 0.01) on univariate analysis. Patients with LOS > 1 day were more likely to have had a complication: 8/49 (17 %) vs. 14/225 (6 %), p < 0.01. However, multivariate logistic regression found baseline CCI > 2 as the only independent predictor of LOS > 1 day (OR = 3.2, p = 0.03), controlling for age, race, BMI, Gleason score, tumor stage, blood loss, operative time, and occurrence of complication. In our experience, baseline patient comorbidity, quantified by CCI, was the only independent predictor of hospital LOS greater than 1 day following RARP. Preoperative assessment of patient comorbidity should be used to better counsel patients on their anticipated postoperative course.

In the interest of renal functional preservation, partial nephrectomy has supplanted radical nephrectomy as the preferred treatment for T1 renal masses. This procedure usually involves the induction of renal warm ischemia by clamping the hilar vessels prior to tumor excision. Performing robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) "off-clamp" can theoretically prevent renal functional loss associated with warm ischemia. We describe our institutional experience and compare perioperative and renal functional outcomes using a propensity score matched cohort. We conducted a retrospective comparison from a prospectively maintained database of all patients who underwent RAPN from 2009 to 2015. Of those patients, 143 underwent off-clamp RAPN. Fifty off-clamp RAPN patients were propensity score matched with fifty clamped RAPN patients based on renal function, tumor size, and R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score. The cohorts were compared across demographics, operative information, perioperative outcomes, and renal functional outcomes. For all off-clamp RAPN patients, mean nephrometry score was 7.1, mean estimated blood loss (EBL) was 236.9 mL, perioperative complication rate was 7.7%, and mean decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 7.1% at a median follow-up of 9.2 months. In the propensity score matched cohorts, off-clamp RAPN resulted in a shorter mean operative time (172.0 versus 196.0 min, p = 0.025) and a lower mean EBL (179.7 versus 283.2 mL, p = 0.046). A lower complication rate of 6.0% in the off-clamp group compared with 20.0% in the clamped group approached significance (p = 0.071). Mean preoperative eGFR was similar in both cohorts. Importantly, there was no significant difference in decrease in eGFR between the clamped cohort (9.8%) and off-clamp cohort (11.9%) at a median follow-up of 9.0 months (p = 0.620). Off-clamp RAPN did not result in improved renal functional preservation in our experience. Surprisingly, the off-clamp cohort experienced lower intraoperative blood loss, shorter operative times, and fewer complications.