title: Current evidence on lasers in laparoscopy: partial nephrectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Laser-assisted partial nephrectomy (PN) can benefit from the excellent coagulative properties of lasers to provide a bloodless tumor excision without the necessity for renal artery clamping. In this review, we aim to determine the current clinical implementation of laser assistance during laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  An extensive literature evaluation on laser-assisted PN was performed. Experimental work on animals and review articles were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Current literature regarding laser-assisted PN is scarce. Available data consist mostly of small cohorts providing low level of evidence. Even though initial studies with currently available laser modalities demonstrated promising results, several drawbacks in each technique need to be addressed before being widely accepted as a standard care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Experience with laser-assisted laparoscopic PN is steadily increasing and uniformly documenting favorable results. As urologist became more familiar with laser technology by its implementation in other clinical entities and with the increasing interest in nephron-sparing management of renal tumors, the use of laser assistance during PN should be expected to play a major role in future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: Iason
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kyriazis
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozsoy
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kallidonis
authors.forename: Vasilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Panagopoulos
authors.forename: Marinos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vasilas
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liatsikos
mesh_terms: D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D009399:Nephrons; D059351:Organ Sparing Treatments