Open Access

CASE REPORT

Inadvertent cryoablation of exophytic upper tract urothelial carcinoma without pelvicalyceal involvement

Andrew C. Strine¹, David J. Grignon², Chandru P. Sundaram³

1 Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
2 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
3 Department of Urology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Address correspondence to Dr. Chandru P. Sundaram, Department of Urology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 535 North Barnhill Drive, Suite 420, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202 USA

Canadian Journal of Urology 2011, 18(4), 5856-5859.

Abstract

Ablative therapy has recently emerged as an option for the treatment of small renal masses (SRMs). Benign tumors and indolent renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represent a majority of these masses, although an additional but often unappreciated consideration is upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UC). We report the case of a 74-year-old man with upper tract UC presenting as a SRM without any apparent involvement of the pelvicalyceal system, leading to its inadvertent cryoablation. We also discuss the role of renal biopsy in the management of SRMs undergoing an ablative procedure.

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Keywords

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