NEPHRON SPARING SURGERY IN PEDIATRIC RENAL TUMORS: ANALYSIS OF RISK
FACTORS FOR POST-OPERATIVE URINARY LEAK
Abstract
Background and Aims Nephron sparing surgery (NSS) is a standard
technique for patients with bilateral Wilms tumor (WT) and unilateral WT
with predisposing syndromes. The decision for intra-operative ureteral
stent placement depends on the degree of disruption of the collecting
system and must be balanced between the risk of post-operative urinary
leak and the risk of stent-related urinary tract infection. The purpose
of this study is to find predictors of urinary leak that may guide the
decision for ureteral stenting. Methods Patients who underwent
NSS for pre-operative diagnosis of renal masses at a single tertiary
pediatric hospital between January 2010 and December 2023 were
retrospectively reviewed. Exclusion criteria were post-operative
diagnosis of non-neoplastic conditions and incomplete data. The
following pre-operative variables were studied: laterality of the tumor,
symptoms at diagnosis, timing of surgery, pre-operative chemotherapy
toxicity grade 3 or higher according to the Common Terminology Criteria
for Adverse Events (CTCAE; version 5.0). Three intra-operative variables
were studied: the need for intra-operative repair of distal calyces,
total duration of surgery and duration of vascular clamping. Primary
outcome was the occurrence of urinary leak. Secondary outcomes were
post-operative renal dysfunction and post-operative length of
hospitalization. Results Thirty-seven patients underwent NSS;
seven of them were excluded for post-operative diagnosis of
non-neoplastic disease or incomplete data. Twenty patients had
unilateral disease and ten had bilateral disease or tumor on horseshoe
kidney. Eight patients underwent upfront surgery and twenty-two received
neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Ureteral stent was placed intra-operatively in
three patients (10%). Urinary leakage was observed in four patients
(13%) who did not undergo intraoperative stenting; all of them required
delayed stent placement. Urinary leak was significantly associated with
pre-operative chemotherapy toxicity (4/10 patients versus 0/20 patients,
p = 0.0077). Post-operative renal dysfunction was significantly
associated with pre-operative chemotherapy toxicity (8/10 patients vs
3/20 patients; p = 0.0010), bilateral disease (7/10 patients vs 4/20
patients; p = 0.0147) and surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (11/22
patients vs 0/8 patients; p = 0.0140). Post-operative hospitalization
was significantly longer in patients with pre-operative chemotherapy
toxicity (median 10.5 days versus 7 days, p = 0.0255) and in patients
who underwent surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (median 9.5 days
versus 6.5 days, p = 0.0053). Conclusions Patients with a
history of severe pre-operative chemotherapy toxicity have a higher risk
of post-operative urinary leak after NSS. In these patients planned
intra-operative ureteral stenting should be considered.