The Impact of 3D Digital Reconstruction on the Surgical Planning of Partial Nephrectomy: A Case-control Study. Still Time for a Novel Surgical Trend?

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of 3-dimensional (3D) digital reconstructions of renal models on the arterial clamping approach during partial nephrectomy (PN). Patients and Methods: Fifty-seven patients with T1 renal mass, referred for PN, were prospectively enrolled in 2 groups: Group 1 (n = 32) with revision of both 2-dimensional (2D) computed tomography (CT) imaging and 3D virtual model before surgery; Group 2 (n = 25) with revision of 2D CT imaging. Segmentation of the 3D models from preoperative high-quality CT scan was achieved using D2P software. In a sub-analysis of patients treated with PN with the on-clamp approach (n = 36), the effective intraoperative level of arterial clamping was compared with the preoperative planning. Results: In the sub-group of patients referred to PN with the on-clamp approach, the intraoperative selective clamping was performed in 12 (57.1%) patients of Group 1 and in 2 (13.3%) cases of Group 2 (P = .01). The intraoperative management of the renal pedicle was done as preoperatively planned in 61.9% of patients in Group 1 and in 86.6% of cases in Group 2 (P = .1). Conclusion: The 3D-guided plan of PN allows to perform selective clamping in higher proportion of patients compared with the standard 2D-guided approach without increasing intraoperative and postoperative complications.