Simple renal cyst sclerotherapy with acetic acid: our 10-year experience

The combination of percutaneous aspiration and sclerotherapy is an effective method for managing benign renal cysts. Many substances have been used as sclerosing agents. Here, we report the long-term outcome after simple renal cyst sclerotherapy with acetic acid.

We retrospectively reviewed medical records and identified 60 cases of renal cysts that were managed with percutaneous sclerotherapy from June 1998 to December 2007. All patients were followed up with ultrasonography. We divided the treatment results into three groups: Complete regression (<10%), partial regression (11%-50%), and no response (>51%).

The mean volume of the renal cysts on presclerotherapy images was 244 mL (range 12-1216 mL), the mean volume of the aspirate was 233 mL (range 10-1450 mL), and the mean volume of acetic acid administered was 34.6 mL (range 4-100 mL). The median follow-up period was 10 months (range 3-84 months); 46 cases exhibited complete regression (76.7%); 12, partial regression (20.0%); and 2, no response (3.3%). The complications were local pain (nine cases, 15.0%) and nausea and/or vomiting (three cases, 5.0%).

The results reveal that acetic acid as a sclerosing agent exhibits a high long-term success rate even at a low dose and produces few complications during the procedure. Thus, we suggest that sclerotherapy with acetic acid offers a more effective management option.