Robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty: a review of minimally invasive treatment options for ureteropelvic junction obstruction

Our aim was to examine the current status of minimally invasive approaches to ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction and compare it to the gold standard of open pyeloplasty. A review of the literature was conducted using PubMed and Medline databases for UPJ obstruction. Open pyeloplasty achieves good results, in the range of 90-100%. Laparoscopic pyeloplasty results are as good as those of open surgery. However, the goal of laparoscopic pyeloplasty as a means of providing minimally invasive surgery to a larger number of patients has not been achieved. The reason for this is the diffculty faced by most urologists in acquiring the technical skills to perform a laparoscopic pyeloplasty. In reports of robot-assisted pyeloplasty, results in the range of 88-97% appear to be achieved. Robotic technology has the potential to make minimally invasive pyeloplasty an easier skill to acquire for a larger number of urologists. Long-term data are still required to determine its efficacy.