Renal Preservation and Partial Nephrectomy: Patient and Surgical Factors

We reviewed the literature to determine the most important modifiable and non-modifiable factors that ultimately influence renal function after partial nephrectomy. The most important factors are the preoperative renal function and the volume of healthy renal parenchyma that the surgeon can spare during tumor resection, as long as the time of renal ischemia is limited. We discuss the strategies that allow optimization of the modifiable factors, ultimately leading to maximization of renal function after partial nephrectomy.