Prospective study comparing video-endoscopic radical inguinal lymph node dissection (VEILND) with open radical ILND (OILND) for penile cancer over an 8-year period.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the complications and oncological outcomes between video-endoscopic inguinal lymph node dissection (VEILND) and open ILND (OILND) in men with carcinoma of the penis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospectively collected institutional database was used to determine the outcomes in 42 consecutive patients undergoing ILND between 2008 and 2015 in a centre for treating penile cancer. Before 2013 all procedures were OILNDs. Since 2013 we have performed VEILND on all patients in need of ILND. The wound-related and non-wound-related complications, length of stay, and oncological safety between OILND and VEILND groups were compared. The mean duration of follow-up was 71 months for OILND and 16 months for the VEILND groups.

RESULTS: In the study period 42 patients underwent 68 ILNDs (OILND 35, VEILND 33). The patients' demographics, primary stage and grade, and indications were comparable in both groups. There were no intraoperative complications in either group. The wound complication rate was significantly lower in the VEILND group at 6% compared to 68% in the OILND group. Lymphocoele rates were similar in both the groups (27% and 20%). The VEILND group had a better or the same lymph node yield, mean number of positive lymph nodes, and lymph node density confirming oncological safety. There were no groin recurrences in either group of patients. VEILND significantly reduced the mean length of stay by 4.8 days (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: VEILND is an oncologically safe procedure with considerably low morbidity and reduced length of stay, at a mean (range) follow-up of 16 (4-35) months.