[What is the clinical practice of partial nephrectomy in France?]

To describe the practice of partial nephrectomy (PN) in France and assess its results in terms of morbidity and cancer control.

Seven French University Hospitals in which nephron sparing surgery represents at least 30% of the total number of nephrectomies for renal tumour, participated in this study. All centres included, as exhaustively as possible, all their PN cases. For each patient, 70 variables were harvested in order to characterize the patient population, the indications, the operative technique, the per- and postoperative course and complications, the tumor specificities, the carcinologic control and renal function follow-up.

Seven hundred and forty-one PN, of which 579 for malignant tumours were analysed. The mean tumour size was 3.4+/-2.1 cm (0.1-18) and 20.8% of the tumours were larger than 4 cm. In 30.1% of cases, the indication was imperative. Among the PN, 12.2% were performed laparoscopically. The mean operating time was 151+/-54.2 min (55-420). The medical and surgical complications rates were respectively 15.2 and 14.7%. At a mean 38 months follow-up, the local recurrence rate was 3.5% and the specific death rate was 4.5%.

PN is nowadays getting a more and more widely used technique in France. This expansion is completely justified by its results and urologists must consider nephron sparing surgery as the gold standard treatment for renal tumours measuring less than 4 cm.