Retroperitoneal Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy (rRAPN): Surgical Technique and Review.
Moisés Rodríguez SocarrásJavier Reinoso ElbersJuan Gómez RivasAna Maria AutranFrancesco EspertoLeonardo TortoleroDiego M CarrionFernando Gómez SanchaPublished in: Current urology reports (2021)
Partial nephrectomy is the standard treatment for localized kidney tumours. rRAPN is especially useful for kidney tumours of posterior location. It offers advantages such as direct access to the renal artery and no need for bowel mobilization. The disadvantages are the small working space and the less familiar anatomical landmarks. It is a reproducible technique that achieves similar oncological and functional results to the more traditional transperitoneal route (tRAPN). High-quality randomized studies are needed to ascertain the role of new technologies as modern high-flow insufflation systems, intracavitary ultrasound, 3D planning, and augmented reality (AR), in the performance of this operation. rRAPN is especially useful for kidney tumours of posterior location. Robotic surgeons ideally should become familiar with both approaches, transperitoneal or retroperitoneal.