Perioperative mortality following radical cystectomy: the slippery slope of complications

The confluence of disease burden, advanced age and comorbidities of patients, and an inherently morbid operation make patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer particularly vulnerable. In a recent study by Mossanen et al. (1), the authors explore the effect of complications on mortality following radical cystectomy. The study uses the Premier Hospital Database, a hospital discharge database, to identify patients who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer and concludes that the timing, quantity, and nature of complications affect mortality following surgery.