Renal carcinoma: minimally invasive surgery of the small renal mass.

Open partial nephrectomy has become the gold standard surgical management for small renal masses less than 4 cm. With the surgical advances in the field of laparoscopy and robotic surgery, minimally invasive partial nephrectomy is now feasible. Long-term 5 year cancer-specific survival rates have recently been reported for laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. These results are comparable to open partial nephrectomy series. As the field of robotic assisted surgery continues to expand beyond the treatment of prostate cancer, these techniques are being investigated in the treatment of small renal masses. Currently, minimally invasive partial nephrectomy has become an option in the treatment of small renal masses.