Trends, outcomes, and predictors of open conversion during minimally invasive radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a national analysis from 2010 to 2020.

We evaluated trends, predictors, and outcomes of unplanned open conversion for patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) undergoing robotic radical nephroureterectomy (R-RNU) or laparoscopic RNU (L-RNU). The National Cancer Database was queried from 2010 to 2020 for patients with non-metastatic UTUC treated with RNU. Trends in surgical approach and conversion were evaluated. Demographics and outcomes including lymph node dissection, lymph node yield, positive surgical margins (PSM), prolonged length of stay (PLOS) (≥ 90th percentile), unplanned readmission (UR), and 30- and 90-day mortality were compared between converted and unconverted cases. Multivariate logistic regression evaluated predictors of conversion and whether conversion predicted adverse clinical outcomes. 25,523 cases were included (robotic = 40.4%, laparoscopic = 36.9%, open = 22.7%), where 3.2% and 9.2% of R-RNU and L-RNU cases were converted, respectively. From 2010 to 2020, robotic cases increased while open and laparoscopic approaches decreased, p < 0.001. A higher T-stage and a ureteral tumor site predicted conversion while a higher R-RNU and L-RNU facility volume, respectively, were protective against conversion, all p < 0.05. Compared to unconverted cases, conversion generally resulted in a higher rate of all adverse outcomes, and was predictive of 30-day mortality, PLOS, UR, and PSM, all p < 0.05. Conversion to open RNU is becoming less frequent but is more common with a laparoscopic approach. Oncologic complexity and facility surgical volume influence conversion rates which in turn are associated with higher rates of morbidity, mortality, and greater resource utilization when compared to unconverted cases.