Salvage cystectomy

Abstract

– Radical cystectomy is still the best treatment today for patients with infiltrating bladder cancer, despite it being burdened by a high mortality rate at five years in the most aggressive forms and by a high possibility of metastasisation. In symptomatic patients after radiotherapy for actinic cystitis (also recurring), and in patients over seventy years old in poor general condition with locally advanced neoplastic forms, salvage cystectomy and “palliative” cystectomy respectively are in our opinion the only methods capable of guaranteeing an acceptable residual quality of life. This work consists of a retrospective analysis of the 9 patients (2 women and 7 men) who, between 1994 and 1996, underwent salvage and/or palliative cystectomy. We report a low rate of intra-operative complications and mortality in the immediate post-operative period. Early and late complications were at an acceptable level.