Salvage Robot-assisted Renal Surgery for Local Recurrence After Surgical Resection or Renal Mass Ablation: Classification, Techniques, and Clinical Outcomes

Background: Salvage treatment for local recurrence after prior partial nephrectomy (PN) or local tumor ablation (LTA) for kidney cancer is, as of yet, poorly investigated.

Objective: To classify the treatments and standardize the nomenclature of salvage robot-assisted renal surgery, to describe the surgical technique for each scenario, and to investigate complications, renal function, and oncologic outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Sixty-seven patients underwent salvage robot-assisted renal surgery from October 2010 to December 2020 at nine tertiary referral centers.

Surgical Procedure: Salvage robot-assisted renal surgery classified according to treatment type as salvage robot-assisted partial or radical nephrectomy (sRAPN or sRARN) and according to previous primary treatment (PN or LTA).

Measurements: Postoperative complications, renal function, and oncologic outcomes were assessed.

Results And Limitations: A total of 32 and 35 patients underwent salvage robotic surgery following PN and LTA, respectively. After prior PN, two patients underwent sRAPN, while ten underwent sRARN for a metachronous recurrence in the same kidney. No intra- or perioperative complication occurred. For local recurrence in the resection bed, six patients underwent sRAPN, while 14 underwent sRARN. For sRAPN, the intraoperative complication rate was 33%; there was no postoperative complication. For sRARN, there was no intraoperative complication and the postoperative complication rate was 7%. At 3 yr, the local recurrence-free rates were 64% and 82% for sRAPN and sRARN, respectively, while the 3-yr metastasis-free rates were 80% and 79%, respectively. At 33 mo, the median estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) were 57 and 45 ml/min/1.73 m for sRAPN and sRARN, respectively. After prior LTA, 35 patients underwent sRAPN and no patient underwent sRARN. There was no intraoperative complication; the overall postoperative complications rate was 20%. No local recurrence occurred. The 3-yr metastasis-free rate was 90%. At 43 mo, the median eGFR was 38 ml/min/1.73 m. The main limitations are the relatively small population and the noncomparative design of the study.

Conclusions: Salvage robot-assisted surgery has a safe complication profile in the hands of experienced surgeons at high-volume institutions, but the risk of local recurrence in this setting is non-negligible.

Patient Summary: Patients with local recurrence after partial nephrectomy or local tumor ablation should be aware that further treatment with robot-assisted surgery is not associated with a worrisome complication profile, but also that they are at risk of further recurrence.