How Important Are Surgical Margins in Nephron-Sparing Surgery?

ObjectivesNephron-sparing surgery has become the treatment of choice for small renal masses and also for renal cell carcinoma even in the presence of a normal contralateral kidney.Whilst it is obvious that a complete excision is mandatory, the size of the margin remains debated.MethodsAn updated analysis of the available literature has been carried out by the authors.ResultsThis analysis shows that frozen sections or final pathologic examination of the margins are not very useful and that a normal tissue margin of just ≥1 mm may be adequate to prevent local recurrence and disease progression from renal cell carcinoma.ConclusionsThe margin status is obviously more important than the margin size.