www.sciedu.ca/jst Journal of Solid Tumors, 2013, Vol. 3, No. 6 Published by Sciedu Press 5 ORI GI NAL ARTI CLE Perioperative data for retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in patients with nonseminomatous testicular cancer: Retrospective analysis from a single institution Eduardo de Paula Miranda, Daniel Kanda Abe, Adriano João Nesrallah, Marcos F Dall'Oglio, Alexandre Crippa, Miguel Srougi Division of Urology of the University of São Paulo Medical School, and Department of Uro-Oncology of the São Paulo State Cancer Institute, São Paulo/SP-Brazil Correspondence: Marcos F Dall'Oglio. Address: Rua Barata Ribeiro, 398 - 5 º andar – CEP 01308-000 – São Paulo – SP –Brasil. Email: marcosdallogliouro@terra.com.br Received: November 14, 2012 Accepted: October 8, 2013 Online Published: October 17, 2013 DOI : 10.5430/jst.v3n6p5 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/jst.v3n6p5 Abstract Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate perioperative morbidity of retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) in patients with germ cell tumors in a reference center for cancer in Brazil. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients from our computerized database from all patients who underwent RPLND. Intraoperative variables such as surgical time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, number of blood units required and associated procedures were evaluated. Results: A total of 28 cases were reviewed. The mean age was 27.8 years. The average operating time was 308 minutes. The blood loss averaged 865 ml. The average hospital stay was 6 days. As to the magnitude of the dissection, in 16 (57.1%) cases a nerve-sparing technique was applied. 39.2% of patients experienced at least one associated procedure. Conclusions: Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection is still a high morbidity procedure but necessary to obtain oncologic control in high-risk cases, even in those with metastatic disease. Key words Neoplasms, Testicular cancer, Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, Morbidity 1 I ntroduction Although testicular tumors are relatively rare, they still represent the most frequent neoplasm in men between 15 and 35 years of age [1, 2] . Such tumors account for 1% to 1.5% of all cancers in men and the annual incidence is about 4.6 cases per 100,000 men in developed countries [3, 4] , while this estimative is approximately 2.2 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Brazil [5] .