Purpose: To describe the initial experience of laparoscopic hand-assisted Miami pouch in a group of patients undergoing pelvic exenterations for pelvic malignancies.
Materials and methods: Thirteen female patients underwent laparoscopic-assisted pelvic exenteration in our center between September 2000 and November 2007. Six of them had the Miami pouch created for urinary diversion. The continent diversion was created extracorporeally through a right iliac fossa minilaparotomy.
Results: The mean total operative time for the laparoscopic-assisted exenteration and reconstruction was 382 minutes (range, 270-480 minutes), but specifically for the Miami pouch, it took a mean time of 106 minutes (range, 90-130 minutes). Four patients (66.7%) had postoperative urinary tract infection that resolved with antibiotics. One patient had a ureteral stenosis requiring stenting and one had a Miami pouch cutaneous fistula that required a fistulectomy. The mean follow-up was 23 months (range, 9-48 months). All patients were continent and were able to self-catheterize approximately 3 to 6 times/d.
Conclusions: It is technically feasible to incorporate the creation of the Miami continent urinary pouch through a minilaparotomy during laparoscopic pelvic exenteration without compromising the benefits of laparoscopic surgery.