Are Preexisting Retinal and Central Nervous System-Related Comorbidities Risk Factors for Complications Following Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy?

PURPOSE: To assess whether retinal and central nervous system (CNS) comorbidities are risk factors for complications following robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of our RALP database identified 1868 patients who underwent RALP by a single surgeon between December 10, 2003-March 14, 2014. We hypothesized that patients with preexisting retinal or CNS comorbidities were at a greater risk of suffering retinal and CNS complications following RALP. Perioperative complications and risk of recurrence were graded using the Clavien and D'Amico systems, respectively. RESULTS: 40 (2.1%) patients had retinal or CNS-related comorbidities, of which 15 had a history of retinal surgery and 24 had a history of cerebrovascular accident, aneurysm and/or neurosurgery. One additional patient had a history of both retinal and CNS events. Patients with retinal or CNS comorbidities were significantly older, had elevated PSA levels and CCI (Charlson Comorbidity Index) scores than the control group. Blood loss, length of stay, surgical duration, BMI, diagnostic Gleason score and T-stage were not statistically different between groups. No retinal or CNS complications occurred in either group. The distribution of patients between D'Amico risk categories was not statistically different between the groups. There was also no difference in the incidence of total complications between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: RALP-associated retinal and CNS complications are rare. While our RALP database is large, the cohort of patients with retinal or CNS-related comorbidities was relatively small. Our dataset suggests retinal and CNS pathology presents no greater risk of suffering from perioperative complications following RALP.