Surgical treatment of bilateral Wilms' tumours with special reference to second operations in metachronous disease

We report on six patients with bilateral Wilms' tumours (among them one pair of siblings) who underwent surgery within a period of 20 years. Wilms' tumours appeared synchronously in three patients and successively in the other three. Case reports are given for three of the six patients. The tumours have a remarkable multilocular appearance, indicating a multilocular genesis. In this context, the phenomenon of nephroblastomatosis is discussed. In addition to surgical treatment, aggressive conservative therapy should be employed, particularly with metachronous disease and the resulting acquired solitary kidney in these patients.