Cadaveric study of arterial renal anatomy and its surgical implications in partial nephrectomy

Partial nephrectomy is gaining, nowadays, more interest in oncologic kidney surgery. This type of surgery requires the good knowledge of vascular renal anatomy to make it safe and to guarantee good functional and oncological outcomes. This paper exposes the clinical implication of the arterial renal anatomy in nephron-sparing surgery.

This is a cadaveric study of 71 human kidneys performed at Charles Nicolle mortuary. The right and left kidneys with surrounding tissues were removed en bloc with the adjacent part of the aorta and inferior vena cava, cleared and studied. Colored resin was injected in each artery, vein, and urinary ducts, with a specific color code for each structure. Corrosion technique was used to eliminate the surrounding tissue, leaving only the colored resin matrix. The Ternon anatomic classification of the inferior polar artery, based on its emergence point was used.

Multiple renal arteries were noted in 9.85% of casts. Anterior and posterior division of main renal artery was found in 95.7% of cases. Posterior segmental artery crossed posteriorly the upper caliceal infundibulum and the renal pelvis in 93% of cases. The upper renal pole was vascularized by an apical segmental artery in 16.9% of cases and a superior polar artery in one case (1.4%). The mid pole of the kidney was supplied by a unique anterior branch and a single posterior branch in 40% of cases. Inferior polar artery was found in 52 casts (73.23%). Type I of Ternon was found in 6 casts (11.53%), Type II in 25 cases (48.07%), Type III in 19 cases (36.53%), Type IV in 2 cases (3.84%), and type V in 13 casts (25%).

Renal vascular anatomy presents large variations. Good knowledge of the segmental arterial anatomy of the kidney is a primordial to a safe partial nephrectomy. Good preoperative vascular mapping can be of great help for the surgeon.