Solitary late recurrence of renal cell carcinoma

Late recurrence of renal carcinoma is an unusual manifestation of this tumor but can occur in as many as 11 percent of patients surviving ten years. We describe a case of a solitary lesion occurring in the nephrectomy scar ten years following surgery. The literature is reviewed. Aggressive surgical management is warranted in the treatment of these solitary lesions. The use of advanced imaging studies such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can assist greatly in the management of patients.