Retroperitoneal and transperitoneal laparoscopic cryotherapy for small renal masses

Cryotherapy is a minimally invasive ablative technique that is considered an alternative to conventional surgery for preserving renal function in small renal tumors and in selected cases. We present our results from laparoscopic renal cryotherapy.

We retrospectively analyzed 17 renal tumors diagnosed in 16 patients treated with cryotherapy. The patients' mean age was 66 years (43-80). The mean tumor size was 1.8cm (0.7-3.7cm). Cryotherapy with double-freeze cycle was performed laparoscopically in all cases (10 by transperitoneal approach and 7 by retroperitoneal approach).

Perioperative biopsies were performed on all patients and were positive for malignancy in 10 cases (59%). The mean stay was 2.8 days. The mean operative time was 162 minutes. Only 1 case reverted to open surgery due to bleeding. One patient required a blood transfusion in the immediate postoperative period. The majority of complications were Clavien-Dindo grades I and II. Some 76.5% of the patients had no complications. After a mean follow-up of 31 months (6-102), 1 patient died from nontumor-related causes, and 12 patients (75%) still show no evidence of local recurrence or progression. One patient had tumor persistence and therefore underwent partial nephrectomy at 6 months. One patient had a metachronous recurrence in the same kidney at 36 months, and another patient had a recurrence at 23 months.

Laparoscopic renal cryotherapy is a safe and feasible technique and is a good alternative to surgery for selected renal tumors.