Thermal ablation assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for clinical T1b renal tumors.

To report our preliminary results of thermal ablation, including microwave and radiofrequency ablation assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for cT1b renal tumors. A total of 56 patients with cT1b renal tumors who underwent microwave ablation or radiofrequency ablation assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy between January 2014 and May 2018 were enrolled. Thirty of them underwent microwave ablation assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (MWA-LPN group), and the other 26 received radiofrequency ablation assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RFA-LPN group). Baseline, perioperative and follow-up data were compared between the two groups. There were no statistical differences with respect to patients' gender, age, tumor size, RENAL score, BMI and estimated glomerular filtration rate between the MWA-LPN and RFA-LPN group, nor were any differences observed in warm ischemia time, post-operative complications and hospital stay. Patients in the MWA-LPN group had shorter median operative time ( Thermal ablation assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is a safe, effective nephron-sparing treatment which provides acceptable results for selective cT1b renal tumors.