Purpose of review: The greater utilization of partial nephrectomy and ablative procedures has increased the incidence of patients presenting with local renal recurrence. The choice to either perform a partial or radical nephrectomy in these situations can be a challenging decision.
Recent findings: Repeat and salvage partial nephrectomy, while challenging and potentially associated with increased complications, offers patients the ability to maintain excellent renal functional outcomes and promising oncologic outcomes at intermediate follow-up.
Summary: Surgeons should be familiar with the surgical complications and the functional and oncologic outcomes of reoperative nephron-sparing surgery (NSS). Recent data and outcome analysis support utilization of these procedures in patients presenting with either local recurrence or de-novo lesions in the ipsilateral kidney.