[Laparoscopy-assisted cryoablation of small kidney tumours]

Abstract

Introduction: During the last 10 years, the number of incidentally found renal tumours has increased from 60 to 75%. Treatment modalities for these small tumours include nefron sparing surgery performed as partial nefrectomy, RFA (radio frequency ablation) or cryoablation. The purpose of this study is to present the first Danish experiences with laparoscopic assisted cryoablation of small kidney tumours.

Materials and methods: During a period of 11 months, seven patients were treated with the procedure. All tumours were renal cell carcinomas verified on biopsy. The cryoablation (Oncura) was performed using the SeedNet system. The cryo-ablation was performed using 1.47 mm needles placed in the tumour. Ablation used Argon for freezing and Helium for thawing under high pressure (300 bar).

Results: A total of seven patients (median age 77 years (47-83)) were included in the study. The average operating time was 2 hours and 5 minutes. We experienced no complications during surgery and all patients were discharged the day after surgery. All patients were followed with blood samples, x-ray of the thorax and contrast CT of the abdomen. All tumours were found to be well treated, but one demonstrated slight contrast enhancement in the tumour region on control CT.

Conclusion: Our initial experiences with laparoscopic assisted cryoablation of small kidney tumours show that this treatment modality is safe and effective. However, longer follow-up is needed for this procedure.