Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Treatment of Small Renal Tumors with Irreversible Electroporation: A Single-Center Experience.

Purpose: To evaluate whether irreversible electroporation (IRE) can be used as an ablation technique for small renal tumors (T1a cancers or small benign tumors) and to describe features after ablation on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, 20 patients (mean age, 65 y ± 12.8 y) underwent CT-guided IRE of T1a renal carcinoma (n = 13) or small benign or indeterminate renal masses < 4 cm in size (n = 7).

Radiation Exposure During Percutaneous Ablation of Small Renal Masses: A Multi-Institutional Multimodality Analysis.

Objective: To understand the effective radiation dose during percutaneous cryoablation (CA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and characterize variables that may affect the individual dose.

Materials And Methods: The effective radiation dose was determined by conversion of the dose-length product from CT scans performed during percutaneous CA or RFA for patients with solitary renal masses (<4 cm) at four academic centers. Radiation dose per case was compared between patients and institutions using multivariate and univariate analysis.

Oncologic Efficacy of Radio Frequency Ablation for Small Renal Masses: Clear Cell vs Papillary Subtype.

Purpose: Current radio frequency ablation series do not distinguish renal cell carcinoma subtypes when reporting oncologic efficacy. Papillary neoplasms may be more amenable to radio frequency ablation than clear cell carcinoma because they are less vascular, which may limit heat energy loss. We report the long-term outcomes of patients treated with radio frequency ablation for small renal masses by renal cell carcinoma subtype.

Cryoablation for Small Renal Masses: Selection Criteria, Complications, and Functional and Oncologic Results.

Context: Cryoablation (CA) is a minimally invasive modality with low complication rates, but its use in urology is relatively recent.

Objective: To summarize available evidence for CA for small renal masses (SRMs) and to assess the selection criteria, complications, and functional and oncologic results based on the latest CA literature.

Evidence Acquisition: A systematic literature search of the Medline, Embase, and Scopus databases was performed in August 2014 using Medical Subject Headings and free-text protocol.

Ineffectiveness of remote ischemic renal preconditioning in a porcine solitary-kidney model.

Purpose: Our study sought to demonstrate the effects of remote ischemic preconditioning (R-IPC) on renal function in a large animal (porcine) solitary-kidney model.

Methods: Twelve pigs were assigned to two groups: Each underwent a right nephrectomy followed by a week of recovery. Group 1 (No-IPC) underwent left renal hilar clamping for 90 minutes.

Comparison of Renal Parenchymal Volume Preservation Between Partial Nephrectomy, Cryoablation, and Radiofrequency Ablation Using 3D Volume Measurements.

Purpose: Small renal masses (SRM) can be managed via a variety of nephron-sparing procedures (NSPs), but the association between choice of NSP and renal parenchymal volume (RPV) preservation is not well understood. We sought to examine RPV preservation after partial nephrectomy (PN) performed via open, robotic, or laparoscopic approaches and thermal ablation (TA) performed via cryoablation (CA) or radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Patients And Methods: The study was a retrospective review of three institutional databases of patients with a SRM <4 cm treated via one of the five NSPs (open PN, laparoscopic PN, robotic PN, percutaneous CA, or percutaneous RFA).

Endoscopic stereo reconstruction: a comparative study.

Advances in robotic surgery especially in minimally-invasive surgery (MIS) has increased the need for translating computer-vision algorithms in endoscopic imagery to support surgical decisions. While methods for stereo reconstruction have been extensively investigated for man-made environments, such an extensive and detailed study on the pros and cons of stereo reconstruction for endoscopic images. In this paper, we extensively compare several state-of-the-art methods on both simulated as well as real endoscopic images over controlled in-lab and phantom models observed by a daVinci stereo endoscope.