Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate perioperative morbidity of retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) in patients with germ cell tumors in a reference center for cancer in Brazil.
Methods:We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients from our computerized database from all patients who underwent RPLND. Intraoperative variables such as surgical time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, number of blood units required and associated procedures were evaluated.Results: A total of 28 cases were reviewed. The mean age was 27.8 years. The average operating time was 308 minutes. The blood loss averaged 865 ml. The average hospital stay was 6 days. As to the magnitude of the dissection, in 16 (57.1%) cases a nerve-sparing technique was applied. 39.2% of patients experienced at least one associated procedure.
Conclusions:Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection is still a high morbidity procedure but necessary to obtain oncologic control in high-risk cases, even in those with metastatic disease.