RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The standard surgical procedure for polar renal tumors is nephron-sparing surgery, currently performed laparoscopically in most cases. This technically challenging surgery involves clamping of the hilar vessels and warm kidney ischemia. This study tested the feasibility of performing polar nephrectomy using a cable tie without hilar clamping or any other hemostatic procedure. METHODS: General anesthesia and pneumoperitoneum were induced in four farm pigs, and three trocars were inserted intraperitoneally. A kidney pole (either a lower or an upper pole of either the left or right kidney) was exposed and encircled with a plastic cable tie. The pole then was transected sharply with scissors, opening the urinary collecting system and major blood vessels. Neither tissue sealants nor any form of energy was used throughout the cases. The animals were killed 3 weeks later. RESULTS: All the pigs tolerated the surgery well. The renal part of the surgery required less than 12 min, and blood loss was minimal (<30 ml) for all the animals. The postoperative course was benign. Laparotomy performed 3 weeks later showed no peritoneal or retroperitoneal abnormalities. The plastic cable tie remained in the same position covered with a thin layer of mesothelial cells. A thin sector of coagulation necrosis was found under the pressure of the cable. CONCLUSIONS: In a porcine model, polar nephrectomy using a plastic cable tie is a very easy and rapid procedure. Cheap and bloodless, it eliminates the need for renal reconstruction. Hilar dissection and renal ischemia are avoided. "Cable-tie partial nephrectomy" may become a method for removing a tumor-bearing renal pole.