Replantation of solitary kidney in a patient with giant primary retroperitoneal sarcoma

Background. Surgery for non-organ malignant retroperitoneal tumors poses a serious challenge. Long-term asymptomatic course of the disease leads to a delayed diagnosis, when tumors can reach massive size with potential involvement of adjacent organs and critical structures. In most cases, nephrectomy is often required during resection of retroperitoneal sarcomas. Recently, there has been growing interest in nephron-saving surgery for large retroperitoneal tumors. Description of the clinical case. A 70-year-old patient was admitted to Irkutsk Regional Cancer Center with right-sided giant primary retroperitoneal tumor and grade 1 hydronephrosis of solitary right kidney. The patient underwent extended resection of primary retroperitoneal tumor with right-sided hemicolectomy and nephradrenalectomy. Extracorporeal resection of the solitary kidney was then performed. After obtaining negative kidney smears (imprints), the kidney was replanted in the pool of right iliac vessels. No complications were observed in the postoperative period. Histopathology examination revealed was well-differentiated liposarcoma. On follow-up examination 38 months after surgery, there were no signs of local tumor recurrence, and renal function was satisfactory. Conclusion. Extracorporeal resection of the kidney with heterotopic replantation is an effective nephron-saving method in surgery for primary retroperitoneal sarcomas. The patient’s solitary kidney with primary retroperitoneal sarcoma is an absolute indication for kidney’s saving, including the use of transplant technologies.