Cryosurgery and needle ablation of renal lesions

Laparoscopic renal cryoablation is a minimally invasive alternative for tre ating renal tumors utilizing narrow probes cooled with a compressed gas suc h as argon or carbon dioxide, At this time, cryotherapy has shown the most promise as an alternative to partial nephrectomy as a nephron-sparing treat ment for renal tumors, Radiofrequency ablation employs needle electrodes pl aced percutaneously directly into renal lesions to deliver energy, creating high temperatures leading to cell death. High-intensity focused ultrasound is a noninvasive technique in which focused ultrasound energy is applied t o cause cell death within the focal zone. Microwave thermotherapy uses smal l applicators to deliver microwave energy to tissues, resulting in the gene ration of heat. Although RF, HIFU, and microwave thermotherapy show promise as energy sources for tumor ablation, they are in the early stages of deve lopment. Little is known about their acute and chronic histologic effects a nd long-term efficacy as a treatment for malignant disease, Further work is needed to develop cryosurgery and needle ablation in order to delineate wh at role these techniques will ultimately play in the management of RCC.