Comparison of peritoneal interposition flaps and sealants for prevention of lymphocele after robotic radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection: a systematic review, meta-analysis, Bayesian network meta-analysis, and meta-regression

Lymphocele is one of the most common complications after radical prostatectomy. Multiple authors have proposed the use of vessel sealants or peritoneal interposition techniques as preventive interventions. This study aimed to aggregate and analyze the available literature on different interventions which seek to prevent lymphocele through a Bayesian Network. A systematic review was performed to identify prospective studies evaluating strategies for lymphocele prevention after robot assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy + pelvic lymph node dissection. Data was inputted into Review Manager 5.4 for pairwise meta-analysis. Data was then used to build a network in R Studio. These networks were used to model 200,000 Markov Chains via MonteCarlo sampling. The results are expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% credible intervals (CrI). Meta-regression was used to determine coefficient of change and adjust for pelvic lymph node dissection extent. Ten studies providing data from 2211 patients were included. 1097 patients received an intervention and 1114 patients served as controls. Interposition with fenestration had the lowest risk of developing a lymphocele (OR 0.14 [0.04, 0.50], p = 0.003). All interventions, except sealants or patches, had significant decreased odds of lymphocele rates. Meta-analysis of all the included studies showed a decreased risk of developing a lymphocele (OR 0.42 [0.33, 0.53], p < 0.00001) for the intervention group. Perivesical fixation and interposition with fenestration appear to be effective interventions for reducing the overall incidence of lymphocele.