Is intraoperative ultrasonography necessary in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for exophytic tumours?

The value of IOUS has been proven especially for endophytic kidney tumours, but has not been assessed critically for exophytic kidney tumours. We aimed to evaluate the value of IOUS for exophytic kidney tumours.

The data of LPN cases were collected prospectively between 2000 and 2022. Thirty-two of 535 patients who underwent laparoscopic retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy without IOUS were matched with the IOUS applied cases according to tumour size, tumour localization and PADUA score.

There were no differences between the two groups in terms of the matching parameters. The average warm ischemia time was 14 min for the IOUS group (range 9-32 min) and 20 min for the non-IOUS group (range 7-52 min) (p = 0.01). Also, the average cutting time was shorter in the IOUS group (6 min vs 9 min) (p = 0.046). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of suturing times (8 min vs 8.5 min) (p = 0.66). The average tumour size was 3.5 cm and pathologically-proven residual tumour was detected in one patient in each group.

The use of IOUS in laparoscopic retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy for exophytic kidney tumours may shorten the warm ischemia time by reducing the cutting time.