Comparison of Posterior and Antero-Lateral Renal Tumors in Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

This study aimed to compare the antero-lateral and posterior localized renal masses in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy with the retroperitoneal approach in terms of operative, functional, and oncological outcomes. Patients who underwent retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy by a single surgeon between January 2013 and January 2021 were included in the study. A one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was conducted to obtain two balanced groups. The patients were divided into two groups as posterior and antero-lateral according to the localization of the mass. A total of 239 patients were included in the PSM analysis, with 65 patients allocated to each group. The mean operative time was 79.2 ± 11.2 min in the posterior group, while it was 90.0 ± 11.6 min in the antero-lateral group (P < 0.001). Warm ischemia time was 15.9 ± 2.4 min in the posterior group and 18.6 ± 2.7 min in the antero-lateral group (P < 0.001). The median decrease in eGFR at 1 year was 4.8 (IQR, 2.9–6.9) mL/min in the posterior group and 5.0 (IQR, 2.8–11) mL/min in the antero-lateral group (P = 0.219). The warm ischemia time and clamping technique were found to be significant factors for predicting eGFR change after surgery (β:0.693, 95% CI: 0.39–0.99, P < 0.001; β:6.43, 95% CI: 1.1–11.7, P = 0.017, respectively). We report that retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy provided longer warm -ischemia and operative time for antero-lateral renal masses than posterior masses. However, long-term oncological and functional results were similar for both localizations.