KIDNEY CANCER
CRYOTHERAPY
Cryosurgery Procedures
Treatment
The traditional treatment for kidney
cancer is radical nephrectomy. As mid-
to long- term results of studies involving nephron-sparing
minimally invasive procedures for the treatment
of renal cancer become available, evidence is
mounting that partial nephrectomy and cryosurgical
ablation are equally effective in terms of survival
rates in selected patients.
Radical nephrectomy means removal of the entire kidney and surrounding fat, the neighboring adrenal gland, lymph nodes, and Gerota’s fascia. An open radical nephrectomy is removal through a large flank or abdominal incision. A laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is a less invasive procedure in which the surgeon makes 3-4 small incisions to insert cameras and specially designed surgical instruments to remove the kidney and surrounding tissues intact. This laparoscopic procedure is also sometimes performed using robotic assistance.
Partial Nephrectomy means removal of the portion of the kidney containing the tumor, while leaving the remainder of the functioning kidney in place. This procedure can also be performed through an open incision or laparoscopically. It is called “nephron-sparing” because some of the kidney’s nephrons are “spared” from removal, and, left intact, they continue to function.
Cryoablation
and Radiofrequency Ablation (or RFA) are the two
forms of thermal ablation that are cleared
by the FDA and in use today for kidney
cancer ablation. While surgeons currently
use both technologies, it is becoming clear to
most kidney cancer specialists that cryoablation
is a safer and more effective technology. When
the world’s body of medical literature surrounding
these two ablation technologies is evaluated,
there are half as many patients who fail treatment
with cryoablation compared to radiofrequency ablation.
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