Nephrometry scoring systems for surgical decision-making in nephron-sparing surgery

Herein, we review the various recently published nephrometry scoring systems and the available data on their ability to predict clinical outcomes and their usefulness for new operative techniques.

Several studies showed that the preoperative aspects and dimensions used for anatomical classification score, the RENAL system, and the centrality index are reproducible and able to predict certain clinical intraoperative and postoperative variables in patients undergoing nephron-sparing surgery. Addition of variables, such as the BMI, to the pre-existing scores might improve their predictive abilities.

Nephrometry scoring systems may allow better preoperative planning and counseling of patients. If they gain widespread use in clinical practice, they may also help to give reliable comparisons of morbidity rates among different partial nephrectomy techniques, individual surgeons, and institutions.