Clinical results of 67 cases of retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy

Objective: To investigate the surgical techniques and clinical effect of retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy.Methods: The clinical data of 67 patients(44 males and 23 females) treated by retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy from January 2006 to December 2007 were analyzed retrospectively.Their average age was 52 years,ranging from 23 to 80.Thirty-five of the tumors were located in the right and 32 in the left kidney;15 in the upper,29 in the middle and 23 in the lower pole.The tumors averaged 4.64 cm in diameter,ranging from 1.5 to 8.0 cm,64 in the T1N0M0 and 3 in the T2N0M0 stage by the criteria of the American Joint Commission for Cancer Staging(AJCCS).Results: The operation time ranged from 55 to 253 minutes(mean 110 min),the blood loss from 10 to 500 ml(mean 98 ml),the postoperative hospital stay from 7 to 12 days(mean 8 d) and the time for intestinal function recovery from 1 to 2 days.The patients were followed up for 2-26(mean 12.1) months,which revealed no relapse,metastasis or port-site tumor seeding.Conclusion: Retroperitoneoscopic radical nephrectomy,with the advantages of minimal invasiveness,less bleeding and rapid recovery,is a safe and effective surgical option for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.