Surgical care, morbidity, mortality and follow-up after nephrectomy for renal cancer with extension of tumor thrombus into the inferior vena cava: retrospective study since 1990s.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our survey was to evaluate surgical care, morbidity, mortality and follow-up of patients who had undergone surgical exeresis of a renal cancer with extension of tumor thrombus into the inferior vena cava.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between June 1991 and March 2003, 40 (5.4%) patients were operated on for an enlarged nephrectomy with thrombectomy. The upper limit of the tumor thrombus was below the sus-hepatic veins in 21 (52.5%) patients and above the sus-hepatic veins in 19 (47.5%) patients with six (15%) located in the right atrium.

RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was used for 12 patients (30%). A per-operative embolism was noted for three (7.5%) patients: two cases of cruoric embolism and one case of gaseous embolism, systematically occurring in patients operated on without CPB. Early mortality was 7.5% (three patients) attributable to hemorrhagic complications. Overall survival at 2 and 5 years was 45.2% and 38.7%, respectively. Disease-free survival at 2 and 5 years was 28.3% and 8.9% respectively. Only the pN stage had a statistically significant prognosis value for overall survival but not for disease-free survival. At the end of the study, only one (2.5%) patient could be considered free of the disease with sufficient follow-up after the surgery.

CONCLUSION: Patients with renal cancer and tumor extension in the inferior vena cava need multidisciplinary cooperation to adapt a good surgical strategy, particularly with the use of CPB. However, the rate of patients free of disease after such surgery was low.