Partial Nephrectomy for Patients with Severe Chronic Kidney Disease-Is It Worthwhile?

Partial nephrectomy is prioritized over radical nephrectomy in patients with chronic kidney disease whenever feasible. However, we hypothesized that some patients with severe chronic kidney disease might rapidly progress to end stage renal disease, in which case the morbidity that can be associated with partial nephrectomy would not be justified. A retrospective review of all 62 patients with stage IV chronic kidney disease undergoing partial nephrectomy at our institution (1999-2015) was performed. We analyzed preoperative/intraoperative factors and postoperative outcomes. Survival-analyses evaluated factors associated with time-to-progression to end stage renal disease the primary end point. Median age was 67 years, 71% of patients were male, and 84% Caucasian. Comorbidities included hypertension (94%), cardiovascular disease (53%) and diabetes (32%). Median preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate was 23 ml/minute/1.73 m Our data suggest that some patients with stage IV chronic kidney disease undergoing partial nephrectomy have substantial comorbidities and nonaggressive pathology, and are at risk for unfavorable perioperative outcomes and rapid-progression to end stage renal disease. Renal mass biopsy should be strongly considered to improve patient-selection. Alternate strategies (active surveillance or radical nephrectomy) may be more appropriate, particularly when partial nephrectomy is high complexity or when the patient is African American, or preoperative glomerular filtration rate is less than 25 ml/minute/1.73 m