Reoperation for ipsilateral local recurrence following prior nephron-sparing surgery: innovative surgical insights from a high-volume urological center with cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study was to examine the perioperative results of reoperations and suggest novel surgical approaches. Based on a substantial number of robotic and laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery (NSS), the authors aim to propose novel surgical strategies that offer practical recommendations to surgeons. METHODS: Renal cell carcinoma patients with ipsilateral recurrent tumors, without evidence of metastasis, and who underwent primary NSS at our center between 2013 and 2023 were enrolled in this study, and all received the second time surgery. The authors conducted an analysis to evaluate perioperative outcomes and observed trends over a decade. Additionally, based on the findings from this study, the authors developed our surgical strategies. RESULTS: In the past decade, our center has successfully conducted a total of 2546 surgeries for renal cell carcinoma, out of which this study includes 15 patients who met the specified criteria. For reoperation, robotic-assisted surgery was applied in five cases (33.3%), laparoscopic surgery in six cases (40%), and open surgeries in four cases (26.7%). While four (26.7%) patients underwent NSS while radical nephrectomy was performed on 11 patients (73.3%). The median operative time was 215 min (IQR: 135-300), and the median estimated blood loss was 50 ml (IQR: 50-100). The median length of postoperative hospitalization was 6 days (IQR: 5-9). Furthermore, there has been a yearly increase in the application of robotic-assisted NSS at our institution. CONCLUSION: Reoperation following the pNSS is a secure and effective surgical approach. The authors introduce novel surgical strategies for primary surgery and reoperation, which offer valuable insights to surgeons in the current study.