Prospective analysis of laparoscopic versus open radical nephrectomy for renal tumours more than 7 cm

To analyse the feasibility of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) for renal tumours >7 cm and to compare the operative and oncologic outcomes with open radical nephrectomy (ORN).

This was a prospective, observational, comparative study.

The study was conducted at a tertiary care super-speciality hospital. All the patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for >7 cm renal tumours during a period of 2 years (April 2012 to May 2014) were included in the study. Thirty patients were included in each ORN and LRN group. Pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative data for all these patients were collected and analysed.

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 11.0 for Windows, Chicago, IL).

Mean age of patients in ORN and LRN groups was 57.3 ± 6.1 years and 54.9 ± 5.7 years, respectively (P = 0.220). As compared to ORN, LRN had less drop in post-operative haemoglobin (1.39 ± 0.55 g/dl vs. 4.07 ± 1.023 g/dl, P < 0.05), less drop in haematocrit value (4.7 ± 3.25% vs. 9.5 ± 5.13%, P < 0.05), less analgesic requirement for tramadol hydrochloride (165 ± 74.5 mg vs. 260 ± 181.66 mg) and less mean hospital stay (4.2 days vs. 6.1 days, P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in post-operative complication rate and recurrence-free survival over a median follow-up of 17 months (93.9% - LRN vs. 90% - ORN).

LRN for large renal tumours is feasible and achieves oncologic outcomes similar to that obtained with ORN.