Urethral fixation technique improves urinary continence recovery in men undergoing open radical cystectomy and ileal orthotopic neobladder

BACKGROUND: We assessed urinary continence recovery and perioperative complications in patients operated on with the novel urethral fixation technique during open radical cystectomy (RC) with ileal orthotopic neobladder (IONB). METHODS: A retrospective cohort of 82 consecutive male patients undergoing open RC with IONB between 07/2013 and 06/2020 was analyzed. A study group of 48 patients operated on with the urethral fixation technique was compared with a control group of 34 patients receiving standard neovesico-urethral anastomosis. In the study group, the urethral stump was fixed to the dorsal median raphe posteriorly and to the medial portion of levator ani muscle postero-laterally in order to avoid urethral retraction/deviation. Urinary continence recovery and perioperative complications were assessed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The two groups were comparable with regard to demographic, clinical and pathological variables. At the median follow-up of 36 months, 42 (87.5%) patients in the study, and 22 (64.7%) in the control group during daytime, and 32 (66.7%) patients in the study, and 15 (44.1%) patients in the control group during nighttime used no pads or a safety pad (P=0.01 and P=0.04, respectively). Ninety-day postoperative complications were observed in 14 (29.2%) patients in the study, and in 10 (29.4%) cases in the control group (P=0.77). CONCLUSIONS: In our exploratory case-control study of male patients undergoing open RC with IONB, we observed a significant improvement in daytime and nighttime urinary continence recovery with no increase in perioperative compli- cations using the novel urethral fixation technique compared to the standard neovesical-urethral anastomosis.