Introduction
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common cancer in western
countries with a rate of approximately 3% among all cancers. Partial
nephrectomy (PN) also known as nephron-sparing surgery is recommended in
small size tumors due to its contribution to renal functions (RFs) with
similar oncological results with radical nephrectomy (RN)[1]. The utilization of PN has become widespread,
especially with the increase in the diagnosis of small size tumors.
Recently, the use of PN has also been increasing in high-risk kidney
tumors due to its contribution to morbidity and mortality by reducing
deterioration in RFs [2,3]. The main expectations
of an ideal PN are surgical margin negativity, minimal deterioration in
RF, and any surgical complication [4,5].
Minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopic partial nephrectomy
(LPN) and robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RPN) are superior to open
partial nephrectomy (OPN) in terms of shorter length of hospital stays
(LOS), less postoperative pain and better cosmetic results[6]. Although studies have reported that RPN is
superior to LPN in parameters such as short operation time (OT), low
warm ischemia time (WIT), and fewer changes in RF, there is no complete
consensus in this regard. Also the number of studies with long term
oncologic and functional outcomes between RPN and LPN is limited.
In this study, we aimed to compare the renal functional changes between
the LPN and RPN at 1 year after the surgery as a primary endpoint, then
compare the perioperative variables and survival rates during the
follow-up period.