Mini-laparotomy staging pelvic lymphadenectomy (minilap). Alternative to standard and laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy.

In a mini-laparotomy staging pelvic lymphadenectomy (minilap) a 6-cm lower midline abdominal incision is used to perform a complete pelvic lymphadenectomy. If the pelvic lymph nodes were positive for prostate cancer, the incision was closed without pelvic drains. If the pelvic lymph nodes were clinically negative for disease, the incision was extended, and a radical retropubic prostatectomy was done under the same anesthetic. The minilap was performed on 16 patients. Three patients who had grossly positive pelvic lymph nodes confirmed by frozen section examination were denied a radical retropubic prostatectomy and had a two to three-day hospital stay. The other 13 patients had an uneventful radical retropubic prostatectomy. We conclude that the minilap is an attractive alternative for patients requiring staging pelvic lymphadenectomy.