Observational studyInternational urology and nephrology2023
Safety, feasibility, and quality of thulium laser en-bloc resection for treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Observational study in International urology and nephrology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of thulium laser endoscopic en bloc resection versus conventional trans-urethral en bloc resection of primary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a randomized controlled trial.International urology and nephrology · 2026Article
- Recurrence and prevention strategies for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A comprehensive review.Asian journal of urology · 2026Review
- Defining the learning curve for thulium LaserFrontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Thulium laser-based hemostasis during percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a prospective observational multicentric study.International urology and nephrology · 2025Observational
- Current laser application in En bloc resection of bladder tumor- a narrative literature review.World journal of surgical oncology · 2025Review
- Applications and future prospects of laser technologies in the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.Bladder (San Francisco, Calif.) · 2025Review
- Comparison of thulium laserOncology reviews · 2025Article
- Neoadjuvant therapy plus thulium laser transurethral bladder tumor resection for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.Bladder (San Francisco, Calif.) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTrans-Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumors (TURBT) is a critical step in diagnosis, staging and treatment of bladder tumors. Conventional TURBT (cTURBT) involves the electro-resection of the tumor into small fragments. This technique leads to concerns about the completeness of resection, under-staging, bleeding, cancer cell implantation, and most importantly, risk of tumour recurrence. To circumvent this, laser en-bloc resection of bladder tumors has been introduced.
objectivesAssessment of the safety, feasibility, and quality of Thulium Laser En-bloc Resection of Tumors (TmL-ERBT) for treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) in various urinary bladder walls as a primary endpoint. The secondary endpoints were to investigate the feasibility of thulium laser use in the re-staging cystoscopy and to evaluate the learning curve of TmL-ERBT.
methodsThis is a prospective observational study including all newly diagnosed patients, above 18 years old, with a urinary bladder mass ≤ 4 cm in maximal dimension (measured via bladder ultrasound or CT or MRI). All patients underwent TmL-ERBT under regional anaesthesia in a lithotomy position. All intraoperative complications such as obturator nerve reflex, bladder perforation, and significant bleeding were recorded. Postoperative variables such as the mean catheterization time, bladder irrigation fluid volume and duration, and the mean of hospital stay as well as the postoperative complications were recorded. All patients were risk stratified and managed according to EUA guidelines then followed by a surveillance regimen per 3 months for 6 months.
resultsThe study included 23 patients with a mean age of 53 ± 15.8 years. While 15 patients (65%) had a single tumor, the rest had multiple tumors, ranging from 2 to 3 in number with a total of 36 lesions. No cases required conversion to cTURBT and none of them experienced obturator nerve reflex or bladder perforation. Only one patient (4.3%) had an attack of clot urine retention. The mean hospitalization time was 31.2 ± 14.4 h and the mean catheterization time was 20.4 ± 13.3 h. The Detrusor muscle was present in 20 patients (87%) and the remaining 3 patients required a re-staging cystoscopy which was performed efficiently using thulium laser. None of the treated patients developed tumour recurrence during the follow-up period. In analysis, the duration of complete resection of 2-4 cm tumours was 23-27 min after the 7th case with a resection rate of 0.12-0.15 cm/min.
conclusionTmL-ERBT is safe and feasible for complete resection of NMIBC with a short learning curve and adequate cancer control.
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