Synchronous Cryoablation of Multiple Renal Lesions: Short-term Follow-up of Patient Outcomes

Objectives: To report on various perioperative and short-term clinical outcomes of 7 patients who underwent cryoablation of multiple renal lesions during the same operative setting. Cryotherapy is the most well studied minimally invasive ablative technique for the treatment of renal tumors. Methods: A retrospective analysis of our institutional renal cryotherapy database yielded a total of 7 patients who underwent synchronous cryoablation of > 1 renal lesion between August 2005 and May 2007. Results: Mean patient age was 63.9 years, and median follow-up was 23.3 months (range 7-28 months). Five patients had ablation of 2 renal lesions, 1 had 3 lesions, and 1 had 4 lesions. The mean greatest diameter of any single lesion was 2.0 cm (range 0.7-7.5 cm). Mean preoperative serum creatinine was 1.5 mg/dL (range 0.7-3.6 mg/dL), which increased to a mean of 1.7 mg/dL (range 0.7-3.6) at last follow-up. Mean estimated blood loss was 138 mL (range 38-300 mL). There were 2 complications-ureteral stenting because of postoperative renal colic, and blood transfusion for decreased hematocrit. Of the 17 lesions, 7 were found to be conventional renal cell carcinoma, 4 papillary, 2 myelolipoma, and 1 oncocytoma (unavailable for 3 lesions). Mean length of hospital stay was 2.3 days (range 1-6 days). At last follow-up, computed tomography scanning demonstrated no recurrences in any patient. Conclusions: Cryoablation of multiple renal lesions at one setting may be successfully performed with few complications, with minimal short-term loss of renal function as estimated by serum creatinine, and with short-term evidence of tumor destruction.