[Conservative treatment of upper urinary tract tumours]

The conservative management of kidney cancer is widely accepted as a therapeutic option for tumours measuring less than 4 cm or in case of underlying renal disease and solitary kidney. The functional and carcinologic success of this conservative treatment results from a radical resection of the tumour and a careful repair of the collecting system and selective ligature of the vessels. Kidney artery clamping is a key to reach these objectives. The cooling of the kidney preserves from warm ischemia and reperfusion lesions. In this review, we explain the physiological basis of warm ischemia induced kidney lesions due to the kidney artery clamping and the advantage of hypothermia. The surgical technique as described by Novick is detailed. This well standardized technique has the advantage of being reproducible and adaptable to all situations.