UroToday - Positive Surgical Parenchymal Margin After Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy for Renal Cella: Oncological Outcomes Carcinom

Thursday, 15 March 2007 BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - Positive margins following supposedly curative surgery can be devastating for patient and surgeon alike. The implication that cancer was "left behind" implies a continued biologic threat, although little is known about the impact of positive margins following nephron sparing surgery, because, thankfully, it is a rare finding. Here, two leaders in laparoscopic renal surgery (Gill and Kavoussi) combine their experience to examine oncologic outcomes in patients undergoing laparoscopic partial nephrectomy found to have positive surgical resection margins.

These 2 surgeons are among the best in the world in minimally invasive partial nephrectomy. I would think that there margins were very close to being negative and management should be dictated by close followup of these patients if the surgeon felt he had removed the whole tumor. It is certainly a controversial topic.