Outcomes in partial nephrectomy are good

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Minimally invasive procedure works in kidney surgery, according to new study.
Radical nephrectomy - removal of the kidney - has long been the surgical solution to kidney cancer. However, a partial nephrectomy has been shown to be equally effective so long as the patient is selected well.

Now doctors at the Cleveland Clinic make a report on the minimally invasive version of partial nephrectomy - which spares some of the kidney cells, compared to the open procedure. The study focuses upon 56 patients out of a series of 557 having a laparoscopic partial nephrectomy at the Clinic, with an average age of 64. Sixty six per cent had kidney cancer. The five year overall survival rate in the group was 86 per cent and the cancer-specific survival rate was 100 per cent. The findings suggest that, in experienced hands, laparoscopic partial nephrectomy can have an excellent outcome. However, the procedure is technically demanding, so surgeons will need extra training if it is to be rolled out over the country.

Source
Urotoday.com 21st March 2007

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