Role of partial nephrectomy in solitary or bilateral renal tumors

J. M. Palmer

Partial nephrectomy was carried out successfully in seven of eight cases of solitary or bilateral renal carcinoma. Although three patients with bilateral sequential lesions died of subsequent metastatic disease, their deaths occurred after 33 to 52 months of productive life without the need for end-stage treatment of renal disease. One patient died free of disease of myocardial infarction at 45 months, and the remaining three were alive without evidence of tumor 62, 76, and 85 months after the procedure. No patient suffered local recurrence of tumor, and the need for dialysis in three patients was only temporary. Partial nephrectomy is a viable option in the management of solitary or bilateral renal carcinoma.