Results after organ-preserving surgery for renal cell carcinoma. An Austrian multicenter study

Data from 120 patients diagnosed as having renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and treated in an organ-preserving surgical manner were analyzed from 11 participating Austrian urological centers. The male to female ratio was 66:54. The subjects age ranged from 27 to 75 years with mean age of 59 years. The indication for conservative tissue-saving surgery was a solitary kidney in 48 instances, a bilateral RCC in 18 cases and, in 2 patients, a horseshoe kidney tumor. In 52 cases the indication for conservative surgery was a peripheral, easily resectable, low-stage tumor (elective indication). Results were comparable to radical nephrectomy of low-stage tumors especially relating to survival rates. Ninety-nine patients survived and were tumor free at the point of check up (December 1988). Thirteen patients had either local tumor recurrence and/or metastases and 5 patients died from the disease. The operative mortality and the morbidity rate was very low.