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Updated: Nov 6, 2025
Robot-Assisted Kidney Transplantation
Published on: July 19, 2021
Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy for Allograft Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report
Shun Watanabe1, Toshio Takagi1, Kazuhiko Yoshida1
1Department of Urology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Background:
Nephron-sparing surgery is required for patients with kidney transplant with organ-confined renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the allograft kidney to preserve renal function. Robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RAPN) is expected to be the optimal surgical approach for these patients, as in the general population. However, RAPN for RCC arising in the allograft kidney is rarely reported. Here, we report 2 cases of patients who underwent RAPN for allograft RCC.
Case Presentation:
Two patients were diagnosed with RCC in the renal allograft based on enhanced computed tomography findings. Case 1 was a 69-year-old man with a 32-mm mass in the middle portion of the right iliac fossa renal allograft, and case 2 was a 55-year-old man with a 24-mm mass in the lower pole of the right iliac fossa renal allograft. In each patient, RAPN was performed for the renal mass through a transperitoneal approach, with clamping of the renal artery. No major perioperative complications occurred in either patient, negative surgical margins were achieved, and no significant changes in kidney function were observed during either surgery. Pathologic findings showed clear cell RCC in case 1 and papillary RCC in case 2.
Conclusion:
RAPN can be a feasible and effective treatment option for allograft RCC.
