Correspondence: Marcos F Dall'Oglio. Address: Rua Barata Ribeiro, 398 -5 º andar -CEP 01308-000 -São Paulo -SP -Brasil. 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

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... cal 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.