Laparoscopic and robot-assisted ureterocalicostomy for treatment of primary and recurrent pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction in children: a multicenter comparative study with laparoscopic and robot-assisted Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty

PURPOSE: This multi-institutional study aimed to assess the outcomes of laparoscopic ureterocalicostomy (LUC) and robot-assisted laparoscopic ureterocalicostomy (RALUC) and compare them with laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP) and robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RALP) in children with pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction (PUJO). METHODS: The data of 130 patients (80 boys), with median age 7.6 years and median weight 33.8 kg, receiving minimally invasive treatment of PUJO over a 6-year period, were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were grouped according to the operative approach: G1 included 15 patients, receiving LUC (n = 9) and RALUC (n = 6), and G2 included 115 patients, receiving LP (n = 30) and RALP (n = 85). Patient characteristics and operative outcomes were compared in both groups. RESULTS: The median patient age and weight were significantly higher in G1 than in G2 [p = 0.001]. The median operative time was similar in both groups (157.6 vs 150.1 min) [p = 0.66] whereas the median anastomotic time was shorter in G1 than in G2 (59.5 vs 83.1 min) [p = 0.03]. The surgical success rate was similar in both groups (100% vs 97.4%) [p = 0.33]. Post-operative complications rate was higher in G1 than in G2 (20% vs 6.1%) but all G1 complications were Clavien 2 and did not require re-intervention. CONCLUSION: LUC/RALUC can be considered safe and effective alternative approaches to LP/RALP for PUJO repair and reported excellent outcomes as primary and salvage procedures. Robot-assisted technique was the preferred option to treat most patients with recurrent PUJO in both groups. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11255-022-03305-2.