Hypertension after Bilateral Nephron Sparing Surgery for Bilateral Wilms

Nephron sparing surgery (NSS) for unilateral Wilms tumor (WT) has been debated recently and is being used to preserve kidney tissue and function. However, NSS is feasible only for selected cases with higher local relapse rates. There is a significant reduction of nephrons with the development of renal hypertension and progressive renal failure. In this paper, we have analyzed outcomes after bilateral partial nephrectomy (PN) and unilateral partial plus contralateral total nephrectomy in our patients with bilateral WT.
We have analyzed our four patients (8 kidneys) with bilateral WT and 8 unilateral complete resection. Kidney size was measured using volumetric analysis computed tomography scan imaging. The patients were matched with children who had undergone imaging of the abdomen for other malignancies.
Mean kidney volumes after unilateral partial plus total contralateral nephrectomy (60.9 cm3) were significantly greater than the reference kidneys. Total kidney volume was significantly larger after bilateral PN (98.1 cm3) versus unilateral partial plus total contralateral nephrectomy (60.9 cm3).
Our findings suggest that patients with bilateral WT benefit from bilateral NSS. Hypertension is less common after bilateral PN. However, rates of local relapse or disease associated death are separately between the groups.