Renal ablative cryosurgery in selected patients with peripheral renal masses.
OBJECTIVE
To present the preliminary results of renal ablative cryosurgery in selected patients.


METHODS
Seven patients were treated, all of whom had small peripheral tumors and chose not to undergo partial or radical nephrectomy. Four patients underwent a rib-sparing flank incision; the remaining three underwent laparoscopy. All tumors were biopsied before cryoablation. Intraoperative ultrasound was used to monitor the cryolesion.


RESULTS
There were no intraoperative complications. The estimated blood loss averaged 111 mL. To date, 6 of the 7 patients have undergone at least one follow-up computed tomography scan (14.2 months average follow-up); all these scans demonstrated partial resolution of the lesion. Clinically, the patients tolerated the procedure without any renal complications or significant changes in creatinine.


CONCLUSIONS
This limited clinical trial has demonstrated the feasibility of treating small peripherally located renal tumors with cryosurgery with minimal morbidity and a favorable outcome. Further studies are necessary to determine the long-term efficacy of this treatment modality.
Rodriguez
R
R
James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-2101, USA.
Chan
D Y
DY
Bishoff
J T
JT
Chen
R B
RB
Kavoussi
L R
LR
Choti
M A
MA
Marshall
F F
FF
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003452:Cryosurgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged