ABSTRACT
Laparoscopic surgery has benefited an immeasurable number of urologic patients in the past decade. Practitioners offer a laparoscopic approach because of its well-known advantages, including decreased postoperative pain, more rapid recovery, and improved cosmesis. Nevertheless, laparoscopy shares many of the risks of open surgery, including the potential for neuromuscular complications. Although rare, a neuromuscular injury can counteract the positive aspects of laparoscopy and result in prolonged recovery and increased, perhaps chronic, postoperative pain. Because most neuromuscular injuries occur outside of the operative field, and over a relatively prolonged time period, the surgeon must be particularly vigilant to guard against their occurrence before, during, and after the case.
